Locked Doors
by Regina Evans
Summary: When I watch Conqueror of Shambala, I was disappointed by what I saw. This is my way of rewriting the ending lol. It got a little out of hand as is quite obvious...
1. Chapter 1

Before I knew what hit me, I was on the ground with a wrench stuck in my forehead and a silhouette with blonde hair was in the way of the sun. "Winry, why can't you just tell people when you're upset like a normal person?"

I stood and looked her in the eye. I was taller than her now. Everyone knows it takes longer for guys to grow than it does for girls. She's been done growing and I'm just getting taller. A smug smile tugged at my cheek until Winry slapped it away. "Edward, you did it again!" Her voice held a bit of annoyance and frustration. Her head fell and I caught a tear on her cheek before it could fall.

I instinctively grabbed one of her hands, and kept my other hand on her cheek. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? What'd I do?"

She looked down at our interlocking hands. She seemed a little shocked by the contact. I blushed sheepishly and was about to back away when she wrenched her hand out of mine. "EXACTLY, EDWARD! YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

She had her back to me so I risked a confused expression as I tried to decipher what the problem was. I was just taking a nap out in the sun and got woken by a metal alarm clock. I rubbed my head and glanced down at my arm. Everything was metal around me. An image of my brother flashed through my mind, but I wouldn't let myself process the thought. "Winry…" I took a step forward as Winry took a step back. I felt her against me and we both froze. I shook it off and grabbed her shoulders to turn her around. I kept my hold on her and looked down at her. She quickly straightened her back so I had to higher my gaze. "What did I not do?"

"It's Al's birthday in a few days and I can't make him a cake…" She fell forward and I slowly wrapped my arms around her. I felt her cool, wet tears as they took over the front of my shirt. I knew what she was feeling and I was feeling it too. The pent up aggravation was more than I could stand. Fighting would've been my preferred anger management, but with Winry, all I could do was hug her tighter and surprisingly, that worked just as well.

I tilted my head down a bit so my mouth was next to her ear. "Winry, Al's just going to be more upset if he finds you crying. Come on, I'll take you to the market. We'll go get him something."

She shook her head as it rested against my chest. "I already got him something."

I rolled my eyes. "Winry, if you got him something maintenance related, he's gonna hate it."

Her head snapped up to look at me. "He liked it last year!"

Our faces were close and our lips were closer. "He's a good liar when it comes to other's feelings…" My voice was a whisper. Her blue eyes glittered in the sunlight…it wouldn't take much to close the gap between our lips. "SO!" I backed away and scratched the back of my head with one arm. My smile was obviously forced. "I'll talk to you later, Winry!" I ran toward the house. "HEY, AL! COME OUTSIDE! WE HAVEN'T FOUGHT IN TOO LONG!" I waited to hear thudding steps of echoing metal, but I was thrown on my back in utter silence.

"Brother, I'm used to my footsteps now. I know how to soften them."

~*~ Winry

I watched the boys fight from the porch. Both in odd bodies: Al's a hollow metal shell and Ed's too short for the amount of muscle he had. Even with their oddities, they fought with grace that was too easy to admire. Every motion was like a dance and I couldn't help smiling at the fire in Ed's eyes. His golden eyes were most beautiful when he was full of adrenaline…

I shook my head, surprised at the thought. I threw a wrench at Edward. "STOP BEING ANNOYING! GO HELP SET THE TABLE!"

Ed clapped his hands and threw them against the floor. The porch railing morphed into a table as Ed continued the fight. He screamed while dodging blows. "HOW'S THAT FOR A TABLE?"

"EDWA-"

"BOYS!" A strong, female voice boomed from nowhere I could see. Ed and Al were frozen. "GO HELP INSIDE!"

The brothers quickly bowed and ran inside. "Yes, Teacher!"

Smoke cleared for me to see Izumi and her husband. She had an evil grin on. "Fear or love? Fear gets more results!" She started laughing and her husband smiled and shook his head. Then her eyes grew wide and she spit up some blood.

"Miss Izumi!" I rushed over to help her inside.

She smiled at me while she wiped her mouth. "Hello, Winry. Sorry to come without warning. We don't travel much so we thought it'd be more fun to surprise the boys. When I saw the scene from the road, I couldn't resist the perfect entrance."

I shook my head. "Don't worry, it's a pleasure to have you. I'll get a room ready for you. If I have to, I'll make Ed sleep on the floor…" Miss Izumi's husband was inside already and we were still heading in. I knew what I'd wanted to talk to her, Ed and Al about, but I wasn't expecting the chance so soon. I wasn't even sure if I was serious about the suggestion. I figured it'd be best to ask Miss Izumi without Ed and Al around. "Um…Miss Izumi?"

She looked up at me curiously. "Yes, Winry?"

I looked away and blushed. "Um…you see…I was wondering. Um… Do you think…uh…maybe, you could kinda…well. Could you help me understand Ed and Al? I mean, their alchemy. Could you teach me some alchemy?"

She paused before we could enter the door. She looked at me seriously. "Winry, I'm sure you know what consequences alchemy can bring well enough so I won't warn you. I understand that you would like to know something to be able to follow Ed and Al's conversations. Especially since Ed is the way he is about studying. But I believe it'd be best for Ed himself to teach you. Not that Al isn't a gifted alchemist…I just think Ed is more of the teacher type. Al would take it too easy, and Ed would start off hard just to mess with you, but I believe over time he would make the better teacher."

I frowned. "Miss Izumi, are you telling me to become the student of someone who is shorter than me?"

The door burst open to a fuming Ed. "YOU SAID SHORT! I HEARD YOU! YOU BETTER BE TALKING ABOUT PINAKO!"

"BEANSPROUT!" An elderly, yet strong voice was heard from inside the house.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEANSPROUT, MIDGET?"

The arguing continued, but I was wishing dinner wouldn't end. I couldn't imagine how embarrassing it's going to be to ask Ed to be my teacher…


	2. Chapter 2

~*~ Edward

Still fuming from conversations from dinner, I started making my way to my room. I heard footsteps behind me but the rhythm was inconsistent. It had to be Winry and something was wrong. She's nervous about something…

"What do you want, Winry?" My voice sounded annoyed, but she knew me better than to get upset. I turned around to face her.

"Um…Ed, I talked to Miss Izumi earlier and uh…" She stuttered for awhile, but I waited. This was classic Winry. As expected, her head dropped and she stared at the floor as she spoke fast. "EDWARD, WILL YOU TEACH ME ALCHEMY?"

I took a step back in shock. "What?"

She slowly looked up and she met my stare with hesitation. "Alchemy, will you teach me?"

I remained frozen, unsure what to say or think. I mentally shook it off and played the 'I'm too cool card' instead of really answering. "Me? A teacher? Winry, you're losing it." I turned to walk away again, but she just followed.

"Edward, I'm serious. Alchemy is all you and Al talk about. I want to be able to talk with you. I want to be involved and I want to understand what it is that you've dedicated your life to. I can see it in your eyes when you talk about it, Ed. You love alchemy. You can think of no better thing to do with your life. And I want to understand what is so important about it to you."

Whether out of curiosity or…no, it was definitely curiosity, I'd decided to try. "Promise me something first." Her head twitched to the side a little as a silent question. "Never, and I mean never, become a state alchemist…AND DON'T EVEN READ THE _COVER_ OF A HUMAN TRANSMUTATION BOOK. Or I will _personally_ disable both your hands so you can't ever draw another transmutation circle." I was about to pause to let her respond, but I saw a flaw in my threat. "And I'll see to it that you could never get automail as replacements."

Her jaw dropped open. She took a deep breath and looked directly into my eyes. Her eyes were icy flames. "I promise on my love for automail, Edward. I will never do either of those things."

A small smile crawled onto my lips. "Alright then! Let's get you some reading material!"

I went to my personal library. It's not very big, but it's functional. Introduction to Alchemy. The only thing I would have Winry read cause it's important and she can't handle too many words on one page. The book had a few pictures. It was a one day read for me. Who knows how long it'll take her to read. I handed her the brown book. It had one word across the front "ALCHEMY." It's the alchemy book of all alchemy books. She stared at it for awhile and I could see her eyebrows scrunch together in reluctance. She looked up at me with that same fiery gaze from before. Without a word she walked to her room. I glanced in the door way to see her totally focused on every word. For a second, I felt a father-like pride. Then I realized what being a teacher was all about. If this was the case, I could definitely get used to this…


	3. Chapter 3

~*~ Winry

I waited until Ed left to pull out my dictionary. These books just assumed that the person reading them knew what this stuff meant already. Isn't the whole point of an 'introduction' book to introduce the matter? They should define every word that isn't used in everyday speech.

I flipped in my dictionary to 't.' I jumped when Ed's voice came from over my shoulder. "'Transmutation: the conversion of base metals into gold or silver. Or: the conversion of one element or nuclide into another either naturally or artificially.' That's the kind of definition you'll find in a dictionary. Just ask me next time."

I got a little embarrassed. "Okay, um…Ed, what's a transmutation?" He smiled and sat down next to me on the bed to help me read through it.

After an unknown amount of time, and about one hundred pages, I listened to Ed as he explained something while getting a candle. He seemed to do this subconsciously. He was more focused on the words than his actions. He's been on way too many candle runs for late night studies. As weird as it was, the scientific terms were making more and more sense. Even though Ed was giving me a lot of information that should've been boring, I couldn't help my attentiveness. I just wanted to know more. Ed paused every hour to quiz me to make sure I was absorbing all the information. It was hard to forget Ed's words. His voice was mesmerizing and the way he explained things made it both amusing and fascinating. Miss Izumi was right, he is a great teacher. He sat down on the bed again, carrying the candle carefully to avoid spilling any wax on me. He'd also grabbed some paper and a pen.

"Okay, come here, Winry. This is the hard part."

I became nervous. If Ed said this was hard, I could only imagine what it might be.

He handed me the paper and pen "These are your independent study materials. I want to see one thousand circles drawn perfectly. After awhile you, like all other alchemists, will be a circle drawing professional."

My jaw dropped. "One _thousand_? Edward, are you crazy? My hand is going to die!"

He seemed shocked. "Hey! Be appreciative. Al and I had to do one million a day. You wouldn't believe how habitual it becomes. I find circles on my notes all the time and I don't remember drawing them. I'm not being as tough on you as Izumi is on us."

He started laughing a bit, but quieted down because of the late…well, early hour. "What's so funny?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, I was just imagining giving you fighting lessons. But…I guess I'm going to have to…" His eyebrows scrunched together and I could tell he was planning something. "Get to sleep. You need it. We'll start training hardcore tomorrow."

I would've protested but at the word sleep, I fell onto my pillow unconscious.

~*~ Edward

Again, that feeling of pride sunk in. Winry was actually enjoying this. I could see the same passion I held for alchemy growing in her eyes. I carefully removed the pen and paper from Winry's hands. She must've been exhausted. I felt a little guilty…until the pride came back. I was of course the faster learner, but Winry definitely wasn't slow.

Winry really is going to have to learn to fight though and I'm not sure how to teach her. I can't just run up and start hitting her. Especially with my automail. Damn it. She really _can't_ fight me. She'd never be able to fight against her own automail. She wouldn't want to damage it. Who can I get to fight her? Then I'll just coach her while she fights, I guess. I'll have to talk to Izumi. I would venture to guess that Winry's already talked to her.

I wandered back to my room, feeling the exhaustion now that the rapid flow of thoughts had stopped. I fell into my bed and wished so much it hurt that I wouldn't have a nightmare. It's always the same one.

"_Mom! Mom! Mom, come look!"_

_She smiled while picking tomatoes. "What is it, Edward?"_

_A huge grin took over my face. "Hee hee… It's a present!"_

_A small smile on her face, she asked "Oh for me? Where did you get this?"_

"_I transmuted it! I put it together with alchemy!"_

_Her grin disappeared and she looked concerned. "Y-you did? I guess you do take after your father! Thank you, Edward. You really are special." I laughed a little. "Being able to create something so wonderful…" Her smile faded. "But it's too bad…" The sun vanished and she was covered in blood. My eyes opened wide in shock. "…you couldn't put me back together, too."_

I woke up to hear wild howls of pain. They were endless and unfaltering. I closed my eyes and felt the yells vibrate through me. I needed to feel this pain. I deserved this pain. I deserved those words. From both mom and Nina. My lungs felt like they were gonna come out through my throat, but I couldn't stop screaming.

"Edward!" Even Winry's sweet voice couldn't distract from my hell. Her warm hand avoided my thrashing as she placed it against my cheek. Her hand felt warm against my cold sweat. She pulled away when my right arm almost snagged her. She was more than aware of what it felt to have a metal arm slap you. "Edward, wake up." The images kept flashing through my head. My mom on the floor. That thing in the attic. The red eyes. Nina's sweet face. Alexander's body weight crushing me to the ground. The beast Tucker created. The rain that wouldn't wash it all away. _You couldn't put me back together._ The words were repeated and spoken in my mom's voice, Nina's voice, Alexander barked, the younger me in the wheelchair, Al.

All the people I've watched suffer. "Winry…" I remembered yesterday and I pulled her into the bed next to me and hugged her tightly. The pain slowly faded and I felt her arms wrap around me. She nuzzled her head into the crook between my neck and my shoulder. My lips were near her ear. I whispered. "I couldn't help them, Winry. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do anything. I'm useless."

She moved her hand to the back of my head and threaded her fingers through my hair. She pulled herself up so her mouth was near my ear. "No, Edward. You're not useless. Look at how much you've already taught me. You're amazing."

I heard a metal thump by the door. "Um…Brother?"


	4. Chapter 4

Winry jumped out of my arms and I felt the pain return. I groaned in agony. It's never hurt so bad before. The guilt was eating away at my soul. I was mumbling and my thoughts were foggy so I probably wasn't thinking clearly, but that didn't matter right now. "No, Winry, come back. You made it go away. Damn it, it hurts!" My eyes still hadn't opened and the pictures kept looping. The voices kept repeating themselves. "Alphonse, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Nina. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Winry sat back down on the bed and put her hand on my head. I calmed down a little. I tried to pull her next to me again, but she wouldn't let me. I slowly faded back to sleep.

~*~ Winry

I was glad Edward's eyes were closed so he couldn't see me crying. "Oh, Edward." I choked out a couple of sobs.

Al was still standing in the doorway. "Um…Winry? What happened? What were you and Ed doing?"

I blushed behind my tears. "He was having a nightmare. He woke up screaming. I came to see what was wrong and he pulled me next to him. I'm not sure why."

Even with Al's limited facial expressions, he was oddly blank. "He's so stupid. Unappreciative."

Al walked away leaving me confused. I got up to follow him, but Ed snapped up behind me. He was breathing hard. His eyes were wide and looking straight forward. I don't think he saw me. He brought his left leg to his chest, tucked his head down, and held himself like that for awhile. I was scared to move cause I knew he would hear it. "Um…I was half asleep before. Please disregard anything I said….or did."

He looked up from behind his arm. His eyes looked as dead as they did the day Colonel Mustang came by so many years ago. The fire seemed to be burnt out though. We held that eye contact for a long time. "Ed, I think Al's mad at you."

He blinked. "What? I just woke up! What could I have possibly done!" He threw his sheets away and walked to his closet, neither of us uncomfortable with him in his boxers. I'm his mechanic. That's all he wears when I have to work on his leg. He got dressed and redid his hair from a ponytail to a braid. "So why is he mad?"

I shrugged. "He walked in on…um. He walked in on us just now."

His fingers stopped braiding. "Uh…haha" His voice was shaky and he quickly finished his braid. "So…I don't really remember a lot of what I said or did. I thought I was still asleep. What exactly did he…walk in on?"

"OH!" A fake smile plastered my face and I waved my hands around. "Nothing! Nothing! You just pulled me into a hug, but you were lying in bed with your shirt off and Al called you stupid and unappreciative… What is it? You know what's wrong?"

His head sunk when I said unappreciative. "Yea. I know hell as much as I know what's wrong. Screw this! I know I should pity him, but sometimes he's just…UGH." His fist clenched and I could see the muscle in his left arm twitch as he froze in mid punch. "He's just being jealous cause he knows that when I pulled you…close to me, it felt better. Humans are comforted by another human's touch. He can't have that right now and he's always going on about a girlfriend. He thought that we…" He froze and laughed a little awkwardly. "Well anyway, we need to start your training. I'm going to go talk to Izumi." He started walking out, but he paused in front of me. "Um…Thank you. For…just, thanks."

He walked out and pulled on his jacket. He didn't turn around, but I did.

~*~ Edward

"Teacher. How do you teach a girl to fight?"

Izumi's eyes gleamed. "Oh so, you've accepted a pupil!" She pated my head as acknowledgement of my height and her authority. "She needs fighting clothes first. She can't fight in that outfit."

I sighed. "So you're telling me I have to spend money on her."

She looked confused. "I never said that."

I shook my head. "You don't understand. You said Winry needs something. That means I have to spend money on her."

She smiled. "Well have a fun shopping day!" She walked away leaving my original question unanswered.

I screamed to her back. "I CAN'T SEND HER TO A DESERTED ISLAND!"

Izumi screamed back without turning around. "WHY NOT?"

I took a step back. Was I going easy on Winry? Did I really have to push her that far? Did I have to teach her to be able to kill? Even if it is just an animal, I remember how hard that first kill was. I can't do that to her…can I?


	5. Chapter 5

Winry came outside and I told her we were going to shop some. Her eyes grew wide and excited. Al was still mad, so I left him home to fume. We walked a long way to the town's small stores. We conveniently had a fighting supply store and a woman worked there who helped Winry find something for sparring. When Winry came back, she was holding a long fighting stick. The woman who helped her pick it out was smiling, pleased at the selection of a weapon.

"No." I took it from Winry and left it on the ground. "Hand to hand combat. Weapons will only hinder the development of your reflexes." Winry looked relieved. She didn't seem too thrilled that the woman picked a weapon for her.

Winry was wearing a short sleeved, tight black shirt that had a small collar. Much like one I've seen Lieutenant Hawkeye wear. She was also wearing black pants like Izumi's that reached a little passed her knees. For the first time in her life, Winry had pulled back the two strands of hair she left dangling in front of her face. Her hair was in a long braid.

I nodded without commenting, paid for the outfit, and walked out in silence.

"So…" The familiar voice reminded me that this was still Winry, hair in her face or not. "Is this outfit okay?"

I was thinking it was a hell of a lot more than okay. "I bought it, didn't I?"

Her head fell. "Right…"

I listened to our footsteps crunch on the gravel. I sighed. "You look good, Winry. You look like you're ready to fight. I just wish a battle uniform wouldn't have suited you so well. I guess people call this karma."

She cocked her head. "Karma? What is?"

I scoffed. "Like you didn't think about it?" She looked confused so I guessed she hadn't. "After all these years of you worrying about me, now I have to worry about you, too…"

She smiled. "Aw. Ed! I'm not gonna get in any trouble."

I cringed. "Don't jinx it." I spun and aimed a punch toward Winry, but I aimed to miss. As expected, she ducked, unwilling to touch her precious automail unless it was a safe environment. "Tch, Winry. Who do you want to fight with?"

She glanced up from her spot on the ground. "What do you mean? I thought I was fighting with you."

I shook my head. "You could never fight all out against me if you're scared to brake my, well more like, your automail."

"Oh…that's true."

After awhile we arrived at the house. I stood at an angle to Winry so my left shoulder was faced toward her. "Punch me."

She staggered a bit. "After all these years, I'd never thought I'd hesitate, but I…don't really know how to punch."

I shrugged. "Guess."

She curled her fist uncomfortably. She slung her arm forward. I barely felt the contact. I laughed. Quietly at first, but it grew louder. I glanced out of the corner of my eye during my fake laughter to see Winry curl her fist again. This time naturally. She slung her arm out and made a good contact with my arm. I immediately stopped laughing. "Good. See, knew you could do it."

She looked shocked. She glanced down at her arm. "So…trust my instinct."

I grimaced. "Sometimes. Sometimes your instinct can be dead wrong. And when I say dead, I mean the death of you." We got inside and Winry went to her room to change into her normal clothes that she'd been carrying in a bag. "Winry!" She looked back down the stairs. "Don't change, you're gonna train with Izumi now."

Her eyes grew wide. "WHA- WHAT?"

~*~ Winry

I screamed and ducked, feeling the contact of every attack Izumi made. I felt sick and my body was bruised everywhere. I endured it by thinking of how Ed endured the automail surgery and the reattachment to his nerves every time he got it adjusted. He'd told me before he sent me out here that pain is just a thought. Ignore it in your mind and you start to not feel it. He'd also said adrenaline makes you numb to pain. But this was ridiculous! I didn't know such pain existed! And every time I went down, she made me get back up. Finally, I went down and couldn't stand up.

Ed was watching from the porch. Calling out names of moves I didn't know. He slowly began to understand I didn't know what he was talking about, but when I didn't get back up Izumi stopped and he ran over to help me inside. I tried to lean on him and walk, but I couldn't even do that. He picked me up into his arms like a baby. He didn't even struggle. I looked up at his face from his arms. He smiled down at me. Then he looked concerned. "_I thought she was going to kill you!_" He whispered, knowing Izumi would kill him if she heard.

I smiled. "I think I'm half dead. I'm surprised I'm not…" My eye lids closed on their own accord.

~*~ Edward

"…unconscious? Yea, I was wondering why you weren't either…UGH! Dead weight is so much harder to carry!" I felt the muscles in my leg working as I carried her up the stairs. I carefully dropped her on the bed and collapsed onto the floor next to her. Seeing Winry fight…well being attacked, was painful. I felt that same rush of uselessness because I couldn't stop it. This training had to be done. Someone I loved was being hurt…well I didn't love Winry! She's like family! Yea, people protect their family. That's allowed.


	6. Chapter 6

I got up and went to my room. Al's birthday is tomorrow and I haven't really thought of anything to get him. I told Winry we'd go out. We should've just gotten him something when we were out today. What's wrong with my head? It's never felt so foggy. I pulled out a book I'd gotten after Al accused me of giving him a fake soul and fake memories. Someone wrote a book about the creation of memories and I didn't want to do it, but I wanted to know how.

I cooped myself up in my room reading all night. It was even more relaxing than I'd hoped it would be.

~*~ Winry

When I woke up, I found myself hoping I would still be in Edward's arms. I looked around my room to find he wasn't here. I blushed and tiptoed to his room. I peaked in the door. "Edward?"

He was too focused to hear me. I walked closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He jumped out of the chair, his movements light and silent. He clapped and transmuted his automail into a blade and held it at my throat. "Oh…Winry. Don't scare me like that." He returned his automail back to normal.

"Edward! How dare you do that to my automail!" That jerk. He just messes with that masterpiece like it's nothing!

"Winry, this automail has seen far worse than that." I staggered a little and felt my soul leave me for a moment. "Aren't you tired?" His metal thumb brushed my cheek where a bruise had formed. There was also one on my arm. My shoulder was sore. My whole body was sore. There was a bruise on my hip, on my calf and those were only the ones I could find. I collapsed and Ed caught me.

"Why is Izumi so tough? I don't even know how to fight yet."

Ed brought me to his bed, not wanting to walk all the way to my room. Al was downstairs playing with Den. "I'll spar with Al tomorrow and you can watch. You might learn something. Besides, the only moves you're seeing from Izumi right now are attacks. You can watch us and see some defensive moves."

I frowned. I'm sure that would help, but Ed was being so uptight. "Relax. Please."

He looked confused. "What do you mean? I am relaxed. I was just studying."

I didn't see what that had to do with anything. "All you can talk about is my training. I'm not just your student, Ed. I'm your friend."

He frowned. "I'm sorry. We just never really talked much as just friends unless we were screaming at each other."

"Hm…" He had a point. I tried thinking of what boys talk about.

~*~ Edward

Winry smiled, trying to start a conversation. "So…find any cute girls in Central?"

I held my gaze on her. She was still in her battle uniform. "Eh. City girls aren't really my type." My eyes grew wide. I hadn't meant that to mean small town girls were my type, but I'd already said it and we were both blushing.

"Um…so is that something to talk about?" She looked…hesitant, but a little happy.

I didn't understand. "What is something to talk about?"

"Ya know…" I didn't know. "….us?"

I fake laughed. "Ahaha…It's late, we should get to bed."

She looked upset and lay down in my bed. "Do you want to join me here so Al can 'walk in on us' again, or would you rather talk and have me go back to my room when we're done?"

I squinted my eyes. Both choices would question my pride. Was I too scared to sleep next to her or was I too scared to talk to her? I sighed and sat on the floor. "Damn it, Winry. What's there to talk about?"

She pulled my sheet around her and continued looking at me from her horizontal position. It was starting to bug me, so I lied down on the floor.

"The day I woke you up from your nap…"

I rubbed my forehead in reminisce. "Yea."

"You grabbed my hand instinctively."

I frowned. "I told you, instincts are death."

She shook her head. "No. It…well, it made my heart jump, Edward. We keep pretending there's nothing going on between us, but is there?"

I clenched my teeth together. Feelings weren't my area of expertise and I was starting to get frustrated and the conversation went on. "Sure. Now can we both go to bed?"

She looked pissed. "_Yes or no, Edward!_" She whispered, but it was the same as a yell.

I tried to think of what my answer really was. I could say no, and we'd go back to our normal friendship with a little bit of awkwardness, though she might be mad at me forever if I say no. If I say yes…what the hell would happen if I said yes? Would I have to kiss her? …That wouldn't be too bad. I mean, she's right. We have always had something going on… "Yes."

She nodded, trying to stay serious as she got up from my bed. I sat up, too. "Thank you, Edward. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Her eyes were gleaming happily as she left the room.

"Good night, Winry."

I climbed into the bed, still warm from where she'd been laying, and wondered what tomorrow would bring, but hoping tonight wouldn't bring a nightmare.


	7. Chapter 7

~*~ Winry

I was up before Ed, so I walked down to his room and peaked in. Al was waiting for him to wake up. I wasn't going to go in, but he was thrashing in his sleep again, not as violently as the other morning though. I stepped in. "Is he having another nightmare?"

Al glanced at me, not seeming surprised that I'd walked in. "No. It's the same one. It's always the same one."

I nodded and left, sensing that Al didn't want me there. I leaned against the wall outside of the room and listened as Edward woke up. "I'm so sorry, Alphonse."

"Brother, why won't you admit that you like Winry?"

"WHA-WHAT? What're you talking about, don't be ridiculous, Al."

"When I came up here, you were sleeping and you've always had one dream and it's always been a nightmare. But last night, you said 'Winry.'"

I put my hand over my mouth to cover the gasp. I turned to see Ed in the doorway. His hair was down and he'd put his pants on, but hadn't gotten to his shirt yet. He looked upset. "Since when do you eavesdrop?"

I changed the subject. "So what we talked about last night." He somehow frowned even more. "Does that mean I can do this?" I walked up close to him, kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him tightly. His back was warm beneath my cold hands. His right arm was also cold where it rested on top of my arm since I slipped my arms under his to hug him, but he wasn't hugging me back. I took a step back to see his face, but I didn't want to release my hug just yet.

His face was serious as he blushed. "No, Winry. You can't do that." He closed his eyes and broke my grip on him. He walked back into the room. I glanced inside to see him go back to his bed and pull the sheets over his head. What was he thinking?

~*~ Edward

What the hell was she thinking? It's not like I've even properly asked her to be my girlfriend yet. Did I want to ask her that though? Damn it, of course I did. That's Winry Rockbell. The girl I grew up with. The girl who was always taller than me (until now). The girl who I could always rely on because she knew everything about me, even if I didn't tell her. Just like now, she knew I liked her, though I didn't tell her. She knew that that hug was the best thing I've ever felt. But she didn't seem to know she was changing from childhood friend to…to what, lover? Whatever it was…it was too fast. I wasn't ready for that. I'm always travelling. Al and I are leaving tomorrow morning. We were just staying in one place for his birthday. Once it's over, we're leaving. And now Winry's introduced a new pain to travelling. That's why I've been trying to avoid this.

I got up to take care of something that needed to be done by this afternoon. I made my way downstairs. "Hey Pinako."

"Hello. Miss Izumi said to let you know she went out to the town with her husband."

"Alright, can I ask you something?"

She smirked. "Is it about your height limit?"

"How do you feel about cats?"

Pinako remained shocked that I hadn't freaked out about the height joke. I was kind of shocked too. I'm not usually so calm. Though I guess it was more of extreme focus on one matter than calm. "Cats, huh? Well I prefer dogs, but I have nothing against cats. Why?"

I shrugged. "You know Al's always wanted a cat. We can't take it around with us, so before I got him one, I was gonna ask if you would mind letting the cat stay here."

She was silent for a moment. "This is for Alphonse." I nodded. "He wants a cat."

"He would love to have a cat."

"You want the cat to say here."

"I would love the cat to stay here."

"Then Al can have a cat and the cat can stay here."

I turned and took a long walk to a box we'd found on the way here. It sickened me to see there was still purring coming from the box that had been there for days now. There was one, skeleton of a kitten left in the box. I knew Al would love it and love taking care of it. I picked it up. "You're with me now." I plopped him on my shoulder and walked back to the house, hands in my pockets. I stuffed the cat in my pocket and found a box upstairs. I used one of my ripped up cloaks to transmute a ribbon and tied it around the box. I walked downstairs and handed him the box. "This is from me and Winry. That's why we've been hanging out and whispering so much."

Winry looked concerned that I'd made up an excuse, but glad that I'd said the present was from both of us because Al had opened Winry's maintenance present and noticed him lying. The box meowed and Al's eyes went wide. "Am I hearing things?" He ripped the box in half and the small, weak kitten seemed to smile at Al. "A KITTEN. I HAVE A KITTEN. THANK YOU BIG BROTHER. THANK YOU WINRY. I'M SORRY I EVER SUSPECTED ANYTHING BAD OF YOU. THIS IS SO WONDERFUL. WHAT SHOULD I NAME YOU?" The cat was the color of sand. Al didn't seem to remember, but it was the same color his hair had been when he had a human body.

"How about you name him 'Touto.' That way you can say 'Oh, Touto' and it's like Otouto." That was what I thought of when I saw the color of his fur. A younger brother.

"BROTHER YOU'RE SO SMART. OH, TOUTO! I'LL BE THE BEST NII-SAN YOU'VE EVER HAD!"

We left Al to try to teach Den and Touto to get along. It didn't take much. Both animals were very relaxed. I think Touto was happy to have a home and food. And I was happy to have someone to sneak my milk to. I should've gotten Al a cat a long time ago.

Winry sat down beside me on the porch. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't think through that."

I sighed. "I don't want to start something just to watch it end. I'm leaving in the morning. I don't know when I'm coming back." I mentally added 'if I ever come back' but she didn't need to hear that.

She nodded. "I understand…We won't start anything."

"Hm…"

She cocked her head. "What?"

I shook my head. "You_ don't_ understand."

She looked a little upset. "What do you mean?"

"You said we won't start anything. Well, Winry, we already have."

I got up and went back to my room. I'd gotten up late so the day was pretty much over already. Al stayed outside playing with his kitten literally all night. He was trying not to think that he'd have to leave it in the morning. Winry followed me up to my room. She sat on Al's bed and I sat on mine. I lied down and she moved to sit on the edge of my bed next to me. I pulled her next to me like I had the other night. I wrapped my arms around her as I finally gave in to my feelings. I'd let my hair down and taken my shirt off for the night so feeling her arms against my bare back was a little more than comforting. I brought my face close to hers so our noses were touching. I could feel her breath against my lips. She moved her neck to bring our lips closer but still not touching. Neither of us wanted to seal the deal quite yet. I laughed, but didn't move away. "This is so weird."

I couldn't see her lips, but I saw her eyes smile. "I was thinking that, too." She had her hands on my chest. I pulled her arms around to my back, put one of my hands on her lower back to pull her even closer to me and one of my hands on the back of her neck. I closed the space between our lips and closed my eyes.

It was just a lip to lip kiss that lasted about 5 seconds. I pulled away and looked at the girl I'd have to meet all over again. Everything was going to be different now. She rolled over. My arms were still around her. Her back touched my chest and I held onto her hands with mine. We were both asleep within seconds.


	8. Chapter 8

[[THIS CHAPTER HAS SPOILERS. Actually, the remaining chapters will have spoilers. It's based off the 2003 series, not Brotherhood. Just a warning. (I'm a major force of the anti-spoiler police so I am going to beg as much as I can through just words for you not to read until you've watched *BEGGING* ED WILL DRINK MILK BEFORE YOU READ SPOILERS. Hope that puts off some people…Well I had to try…Enjoy anyway you bad non listeners, you!)]]

~*~ Winry

I've never enjoyed waking up so much. I felt Ed's body behind me and his hands, one cold and one warm, holding mine. I've never noticed before, but being so close, I could smell him. He smelled like a rainy day: fresh and reviving. I felt his breath against the back of my ear. "_Winry._"

I felt against my back the sound that vibrated through his chest. "What're you dreaming about, Edward?"

He let go of my hands and hugged me by grabbing my right arm with his left hand and my left arm with his right hand. "I'm dreaming about you. About a time when you won't feel the chill of my arm or leg." As he spoke, he touched my left foot with his and brushed the fingers of his right arm against my shoulder.

"Ed, you forget who you're speaking to. I love automail. I'm almost wishing that day will never come." I felt him tense. "I'm just kidding. I'm just saying that I'm not repulsed by it so you can relax."

He let out a long breath that rippled through my hair. "You're hair smells really good, by the way."

I smiled. "You smell like rain."

I felt him shrug to bring his shoulder closer to his nose. "Really? I can't smell anything."

"Ed." I spun around in his arms so I'd face him. His long hair in his face made him look like an angel. His small smile was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I caught my breath and tried to finish what I'd started to say. "I'm gonna go back to my room before Al really does walk in on us. No air quotes this time."

"Hold on…" He brushed his metal finger through my hair, careful not to snag any knots. "One more for the road." He brought his lips to mine. "So are we going to act like this didn't happen now?"

I reluctantly left his arms and immediately felt cold. I saw him shiver so I guess he felt the same. "I think pretending this didn't happen would be a good idea when other people ask about us, but if we're ever alone…This _so_ happened."

A cocky grin appeared on his face. "I can handle those facts." He got up and got dressed. I left the room and did the same.

~*~ Edward

When I got downstairs, Pinako was smiling at me. "What do you want, old lady?"

She smiled in a threatening way. "My granddaughter wasn't in her bed last night…"

My eyes went wide and I gulped. I whispered. "Pinako, you can't tell Al...yet. I'll…tell him eventually."

She nodded. "So you'll tell him when he's standing next to you at the altar and he's the best man waiting to see who the bride is when she walks down the aisle, right?"

I blushed. "_Just don't tell him! _…I got this." Al came downstairs ready to go. I grabbed my cloak and headed outside. "Alright, time to go! Bye!"

"WAIT!" Winry's voice echoed through the house. She came running downstairs in a white tank top and a ridiculously short skirt. She panted from the mad dash to get downstairs. "…I'm coming with you, Edward."

My jaw dropped. "…B-but Winry…don't you think that's a little rash? We don't even know where we're headed. I mean, yea we're on our way to Central, but who knows where we'll go with a lead. You can't just-"

She wrapped her arms around me and I tensed. I stuck my arms straight out to the side. "Edward, I'm coming with you." She brought her face closer to mine slowly.

"UHHHHHH. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR AGREemen…t…..mmmm" I didn't exactly want to pull away. Besides, Al was the only one there who didn't know. I guess he was bound to find out eventually. I just didn't think it'd be so soon. She pulled away and I kept my eyes closed. "That doesn't mean you can come. I can't allow it, Winry. Even if this hadn't happened. You can come up to Central if I ever need repairs and I'll come and visit sometimes, heck maybe I'll even try to call sometimes. I'm not about to put someone else in the line of fire."

~*~ Winry

His eyes were blazing with the fire I'd thought had gone out. It was nice to see him with a purpose again. "Fine. I'll stay. Don't do anything stupid while you're out there."

"Yea…yea…See ya!" He turned around and walked off, not yet saying anything to Al.

"DRINK YOUR MILK!"

"I'LL NEVER DRINK THE DAMN MILK SO STOP SAYING IT'S MINE!"

I smiled as they walked away, nothing could ever change Ed. Nothing at all.

~*~ Edward

"So…." Al wasn't quite sure what to say so he stayed neutral. "What'd I miss? When did this happen?"

I groaned. "Uh…last night. No, I guess before that. Oh, we never said goodbye to Teacher."

Al shrugged. "Pinako said they left last night without saying goodbye. They went off to town and never came back."

I nodded. "Oh. Alright. I don't have to feel bad now. It was her fault."

"Brother! Don't change the topic! What happened?"

The train rattled on and I stared out the window. "I didn't tell her why we stopped by and that's all that matters right now. Mustang told us to lie low while he confronted the Fueror. Now we got to get back on the job and kick some ass."

"Brother…Winry just kissed you. Why can't you relax a little."

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE." The retort wasn't really heartfelt. I was just trying to get the feeling of Winry's lips out of my mind. "Come on, Al. Think of everything that's going on. You're the philosopher's stone. I killed Sloth and Greed. Mustang's going after the Fueror and the imposter kids got a message through Lieutenant Ross that they need to see us. If they've got a lead, we need to find them. We've just been sitting on our asses while everyone else has been working. If it hadn't been for Winry's sudden interest in alchemy, I would've lost my mind doing nothing during all this." My eye lids drooped and I remembered how I'd woken shortly after falling asleep and just listened to Winry's breath until morning. "I didn't get a lot of sleep, Al." His eyes widened. "NO, NO, NO! NOT LIKE THAT! NOTHING HAPPENED. I'm gonna sleep for the rest of the ride."

He glanced out the window so I assumed I was allowed to sleep. I dreamed about Al and I coming home, totally flesh and blood. No more metal. Winry cried through pure joy. I kissed her for what felt like forever. I never wanted to wake up.


	9. Chapter 9

[[I apologize for this boring chapter. It's pretty much just a repeat of what happened in the anime. But I figured it'd be too confusing to skip around (especially for those who ignored my spoiler alerts. Yea. I'm onto you *evil eyes*) Once again, I apologize. I'll try to get all the boring stuff out so you can look forward to a different, unfamiliar, fun story. Thanks for reading :D]]

Unfortunately, I did wake up. Al had to wake me so we could prepare for an escape. We'd gotten on a really early train so no one was around, but we lost our cover of darkness so we had to blend in a little more. I'd brought dye with me and disguised my hair. Of course, Al was gonna be another problem all together, but we agreed to meet at the church together because we'd be making separate escapes. Neither of us wanted to separate, but we didn't have a choice. A feeling of dread was eating away at me, but I couldn't risk losing any confidence. Confidence helped me through all the impossible situations I've been in. Most of the time, they turn out more possible than most have thought. All you've got to do is believe it can be done. Then there's the times you're screwed no matter what but can't help trying.

As soon as the train stopped, Al and I were gone. Al had to jump off a little before the station. We sat in the back of the train, where the luggage usually stays. Al was used to the area and glad to be free of any sheep. Hat, glasses, trench coat, and…stilts to disguise my…height. Damn it. This is so embarrassing. I walked carelessly off the train, unnoticed by all. As soon as I'd gotten out of the station, I ditched the stilts and made a run for it. I made it to the place the imposters arranged and slipped inside. I took off the hat and glasses.

"Well you've gotten shorter." Russell gleamed in all of his height normality. The only thing that restrained me from a retort was Al's absence.

"Has Al gotten here yet?"

They shook their heads. "Should he have?"

"Tch. Well he did leave before me…Damn it. This isn't good. They found him. I knew they'd find him. UGHH." I slammed my left leg into a chair and broke the chair. "THOSE BASTARDS! THEY'RE GONNA KILL HIM! I'LL KILL THEM FIRST!"

"Should we still tell you what we know?" Fletcher peaked out from behind his brother.

I let out a breath. "Yea. I guess there's nothing for it now. If I'm out looking around everywhere, that just narrows down the places the military is going to have to look for me. If Al's caught, there's no sense of me getting caught. I'll just find them and I'll find him."

Russell smiled. "And that's where we come in!"

"Wait you know where they are?" They nodded. "…WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?"

"Well we're telling you now so calm down."

I glanced over at the paper Fletcher was holding. He handed it to me and I read it in a glance. "Really? Right here?" I clapped and opened an entrance. "I don't have much time…I'd stay and discuss more, but…"

"We didn't give you that paper so you could make a stone."

That felt like an insult. "I don't plan on making one, trust me. That's the last thing on my mind. Like I said, I got to go."

I took off down the passage before they could stop me again. Russell's voice followed me down the tunnel. "JUST COME BACK ALIVE."

I wasn't promising anything.

I got to end of the tunnel to see it was true. There really was a city under Central… THOSE BASTARDS. What kind of monster could come up with this kind of plan? "ARE YOU HERE, DAD?" That bastard had to be behind this hell hole. I made my way to another door and opened it to a…dance hall?

The music playing was mesmerizing, but more mesmerizing then that was "…Rose?"

Before I knew it, I was dancing with her. I felt stupid since my head only reached her shoulder. "I've been waiting for you, Edward."

I blushed a little, "Uh…really?"

She seemed a little straightforward and deluded. Something wasn't right. She didn't have that strong presence she used to have. She was weak and submissive now. "I love you, Edward."

The blush took over my face. "Uh…you do?" I thought of Winry's lips against mine. Three times… "But Rose, we're just friends." I pulled away and saw Lyra walk into the room with a baby.

Rose took off toward her. "My baby!"

I narrowed my eyes at Lyra. "What're you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Before Dante died, she told me about a city that only old alchemist knew about. Sounded safe."

I wasn't trusting the odd words. Besides… "You said before that Dante had been murdered, but you were awfully vague. You never told me who did it or why."

"That homunculus named Greed killed her. I could've sworn I told you that."

My eyes got even more narrow. "You're lying to me."

"Am I?" That comment itself was enough to affirm my suspicion.

"That transmutation circle in Dante's mansion was designed specifically to drain a homunculi's power. And the human remains that were Greed's weakness laid out in the same room. Even if he wanted to, Greed couldn't have made a move against her."

"That's all very interesting, but I saw her corpse with my own eyes."

"That proves nothing! Except for the body she was squatting in could no longer serve her purpose."

"What?"

Now I was pissed. "Let's say the philosopher's stone could be used to jump from one body to another. That would make a human capable of living for hundreds of years. I think Dante faked her death and then used the stone to take over a younger body. A body like yours would be just the right fit." I growled the words at her.

She looked insulted and hurt. "Edward! Stop it! It's not true!"

I clapped my hands and transmuted a spear to throw at her. She clapped and destroyed it as it reached her. "That was too close."

"When did you see the gate? That's the only way you can transmute without a circle. And Lyra couldn't do that before. Your secrets up, _Dante_."

She smirked at me. "When did you find out, fair son of Hoenheim?"

"So it's all true. You bastards have been using a stone that's creation killed innocent people and you're just using it for yourselves so you can live longer. Where's the justice in that?"

Lyra laughed. "Equivalent exchange. Is that what you're thinking of? Here, let me explain why you're wrong. You took the state alchemist exam, correct? Well how come you're the only one who passed when so many others worked so much harder than you and only lacked your natural talent. Where's the equivalency in that?" She clapped her hands and created a stone snake to snatch up Rose's child. Not that I was even sure it was her child. Her boyfriend was dead and with her commitment, I wouldn't think she'd found someone else. Then again…a few minutes ago she'd said she…but I can think about that later. "If I clap my hands, this child will die. Is that fair that it's life's purpose is only to die? There are those in this world that are born into poverty and work their whole lives to achieve more. But they still die with nothing. Then there are those born into wealth who never worked for it. Is that equivalent?"

Through frustration, I clapped my hands and destroyed the stone snake and caught the child. I gave it back to Rose. "Don't use a child to fuel your agenda!"

She laughed at me. "That's what your father said."

Everything went white and I found myself in a familiar place. "Oh shit." The Gate opened and pulled me into blackness.


	10. Chapter 10

[[I redid this chapter. I'd intended to change this part. I don't know what I was thinking the first time I wrote that.]]

When I opened my eyes, I was expecting to be dead. I'd been apologizing over and over again to Winry. As if it would make things better, I screamed in my head telling her I loved her. That I was sorry I'd never say it to her. So when I opened my eyes my first thought was "Damn it. Now I have to tell her." I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands and stretched the muscles in my right ar- I sat up fast. My _right_ arm? My _left_ leg? I looked in the mirror. I was wearing weird kaki colored shorts with lots of pockets and my shirt was a weird material with hems around the neck and sleeves. "Uh…That's weird." I glanced around the room and saw large pictures all over the walls. Pictures of strange looking cars, people running around on fields, maps of an oval sea with what must've been islands. A voice broke through my thoughts. _Who…who are you?_ "WHAT THE HELL?" Damn it! I-I'm in someone else's body!

Suddenly hesitant, I opened the door. I glanced around. Everything looked so…different. The whole style of the house was odd. I made my way downstairs. This house was huge. When I got to the main room of the house I saw…Hoenheim? Damn it! I am dead! This is hell, isn't it!

Hoenheim saw me and smiled. "You're early for once!" He got up and grabbed a huge ring of keys. "Let's go, then."

"Uh…" He was leaving so I had no choice but to follow him. I got in the car, but it wasn't what I'd expected from a car. There were straps to hold you in…but I couldn't get the strap to work right, so I let it be. "What the hell is this place?"

Hoenheim turned toward me. "…You don't seem like yourself."

I laughed darkly. "That's funny, I don't _feel_ like myself!"

He narrowed his eyes. "The word transmute. Does it mean anything to you?"

I scoffed. "Of course it does! So-"

He interrupted. "How did you get here?"

"Um...if I had to guess, I'd say Dante…What is this place?"

"You couldn't tell?" He looked disappointed. Damn him. "This is the other side of the Gate."

I choked. "Damn it!" My voice sounded like a plea.

I clapped my hands to try and get the Gate back. No matter what it cost, I needed some part of me to get back to Al. Hoenheim shook his head. "No alchemy here."

"WHAT?" That was impossible!

His mouth smiled, but his eyes frowned. "I'm stuck here, Edward."

I struggled for words, unable to believe my life's mission was over and at a dead end. "What about Al? What about Winry? DAMN IT!"

His smile held a lot of sadness. "Edward, I said _I_ am stuck here. I never said you were."

I felt my hope jump back to life from where it had been squashed and stepped on. "How do I get back?"

"You must open the gate inside you. Your body isn't here, but your mind and soul were attracted to the body of this Edward like a magnet. You must get back there."

Even though this was the man that ruined the majority of my life, I felt responsible for helping him if he was helping me. "Can't we do something about you?"

He ignored the question. "I was glad when I found out the law of equivalency wasn't true. If it were, I could live a million lifetimes and not be able to do enough good to equal my greatest gift. My two children. You and Al."

I was about to say something else until I glanced out the window. All the buildings were huge. "How fast are you going? Isn't this dangerous? I've never seen a car go so fast! WHAA- SOMEONE JUST PASSED YOU! ARE THESE PEOPLE INSANE?"

As if I'd predicted it, a car came out of nowhere, swerving like crazy. It was on the right side of our car. Hoenheim moved over to the left. Then it stopped right in front of us. We had no time to brake.

I tried to run, but I could only yell as its metal body crushed mine into the road. "Edward!" I listened to my dad's voice for the last time. With my last ounces of strength, I had to try…

I clapped, but there was no alchemy here to save me.

~*~ Winry

I walked around the quiet house. I made my way to Ed's room when I made sure Pinako wasn't around, I brought my fingers to my lips, remembering how it felt to have Ed's there. I giggled. After all these years, we finally started something. I'd just now realized just how much I…well, _wanted_ him. I laughed out loud just thinking those words. That short boy attract _me_? It was definitely a laughing matter. Granny poked her head around the corner. "What's so funny, Winry?"

I closed my eyes and smiled widely. "Oh nothing, just…polishing automail! Always makes me happy! Ah ha…ha…" I put down the spare leg Ed had once worn. It was still lying on his desk.

She walked out of the room and left me alone. I lied down in the bed thinking of how Ed had held me that morning. I hoped he was safe…

~*~ Edward

I let my eyes close, but opened them to find myself breaking out of the gate. I glanced down at my arm "My automail? I'm really here? But does that mean the other Ed had to die? His life…traded for mine?"

Then I looked around and saw my brother. The people around me were shocked, but Lyra didn't seem to mind. She laughed as Envy attacked me. I brought my hands up to clap. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. The philosopher's stone has been activated. How do we know what will happen if a transmutation occurs around him?"

"Damn it!" I followed Envy across the room as the bastard did a little gymnastics routine for me. I punched him across the jaw and pinned him to the ground. "THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT? HIDING BEHIND OTHERS' FACES WITH GUILT TRIPS? I KILLED THAT HOMONCULOUS WHILE SHE WAS WEARING THE FACE OF MY MOTHER!"

"This face?" Envy transformed into Sloth.

"DAMN YOU!" I punched him again. He turned into Hughes. I punched him again and saw Marcoh. I punched him again and saw Mustang. I laughed. "COULDN'T HAVE PICKED AN EASIER TARGET!" I felt a great deal better after punch Mustang. "WHY DON'T YOU SHOW YOUR REAL FACE?" I wound up for another punch…I froze when Envy complied with my request.


	11. Chapter 11

[[I apologize. This is a short chapter. (I keep apologizing…I apologize XD) But I just couldn't keep writing after that last line. It needed a dramatic silence.]]

I saw the face of my father. Only younger. Cockier. "The bastard…had another kid…" I heard my own voice speaking, but I couldn't believe the words.

Dante smiled. "Envy is the result of your father's failed attempt to bring back our son who died prematurely of mercury poisoning. At one time, you and Envy were brothers." She laughed.

Envy finished the story. "Our father abandoned me to start over with his perfect wife and kids. Needless to say, I never did like being replaced."

Envy morphed his hand into a blade and I felt the mixture of hot and cold that came with every blow. Only I knew this one was fatal. This time it really was the end. Al had to go on without me. I wouldn't be coming back from this adventure. I guess…I never will tell Winry I love her…

"BROTHER!"

I listened to Al's screams as the life faded out of me. My blood covered the floor. "Tell…tell Winry…"

~*~ Winry

I dropped to my knees. Something felt wrong. Something went wrong. Granny came up next to me. "Winry, is something wrong?"

I nodded, my breath shaky. "Something doesn't feel right…Something feels…empty…"

She did her best to help me upstairs. She tried to take me to my room, but I wanted to go to Edward's. It still smelled like him.

~*~ Al

"NO!" HE CAN'T BE DEAD! HE COULDN'T BE! THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!

Wait…it still could be me… "Brother hasn't been dead long. His soul must still be at the gate…I'm going to get him back." Before anyone could stop me, I'd already clapped and used the whole philosopher's stone to bring my brother back. Even though it cost me my life…

~*~ Edward

I opened my eyes slowly. "Al?" I glanced at the empty suit of armor, but I already knew my brother was no longer here. My voice was a coarse whisper. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "You idiot."

I thought of what my dad had told me. That his mind, body and soul had all been in the gate. Well if Al's soul was all that was here, his body and mind must be in the gate and now his soul has joined them and he's whole again. So…he can come back now!

But equivalent exchange…I don't care what they say, it's real. And what could possibly match having my brother back besides not being able to see him once he's back? If I'm gone when he's here…that would be equal…wouldn't it?

I started to draw my own transmutation circle. I guess I really didn't need to, but it felt more solid and concrete this way. More likely for success. I took off my shirt to add circles to my arms, forehead, and chest. After so many years with Alphonse, I was ready to die. If it's for him, I will happily die.

Rose was next to me for awhile, but I've been ignoring her. "Rose…tell Alphonse I love him. Tell him to look under his pillow…"

"Edward, what do you mean?"

I clapped my hands and saw the light of the alchemy through my eyelids. I smiled, my eyes still closed. _So I guess I _won't_ tell Winry…but Al will._ I opened my eyes and for a half second, I saw my younger brother. Flesh and blood. Happy. Smiling. Living.


	12. Chapter 12

~*~ Al

I felt dirt around me and pieces of wood were under me. I couldn't quite place where I was. My whole body hurt beyond belief and I couldn't even open my eyes. I couldn't move. Couldn't see. Couldn't do anything until I died. I felt a rough tongue against my face and arduously opened my eyes to see Touto. I tried to speak, but my throat was so dry. I strained to move but it just hurt too much. Touto's eyes widened and he ran away. I sighed. I couldn't even die with a companion.

While I waited I tried to think what happened before I got here. …Then I remembered. MY BODY! MY BODY IS BACK! BROTHER! I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME! MY BODY IS BACK! I HAVE TO LIVE NOW!

'Alphonse? Are you awake?' I looked around to find my brother, I could hear his voice so clearly. He must be close.

The pain to move was so strong, I almost didn't feel it. Then I heard Winry's voice. "ALPHONSE!" She started crying. She ran up and hugged me. Touto, who had gone to get Winry somehow, was licking my fingers. "Alphonse, what are you doing here? All that's left of this house is rubble. You can't live here anymore." She smiled through her tears.

I heard my brother's voice again. It sounded like he was crying. 'Winry…Winry I'm going to miss you so damn much. I- I guess this is my last chance…I don't think you can hear me, but Winry…_I love you_. So. Damn. Much.'

It pained me to hear so much sadness in my brother's voice. Winry glanced up. She looked happy to hear those words, but then she frowned when she didn't see him. "E-Edward?" She shook her head. "I'm going crazy. He's not even here." She turned toward me. "Your body is so withered. You can't move, can you? I'll go get the wheelchair." She ran off.

'Alphonse, you're…you're holding me here. You've got to let go.'

I tried to respond, but I couldn't. My voice was still gone. Winry and Granny came running up. They were both crying with joy.

They got me to the house and I drank water for the first time in years. I ate delicious stew. Brother crying and mumbling Winry's name over and over. Winry kept glancing over her shoulder. "Do you hear that, Al? Am I going crazy?"

'You've always been crazy, Winry.' Ed finished his sentence with a laugh, but it sounded more like a sob.

I nodded my head. "Yea, Winry. I hear him." Granny seemed also to be able to hear him, so everyone assumed we weren't crazy and that Edward was really here.

'I need to speak to Al alone for a little bit…'

Winry started crying, trading the tears of joy for tears of sorrow. "Ed…please tell me you're not-"

'I need to speak to Al, Winry.'

It was silent for a moment as Winry sobbed.

Winry and Granny helped me up the stairs and I collapsed into the bed. I waited for them to leave. "Edward?"

I heard a sigh of relief. 'Damn it. I just…I can't stop crying…'

My head felt weird so I went to fix my pillow. My hand brushed a piece of paper. "What's this?"

'No, don't! That's my…letter.'

My eyes went wide. "Brother…you wrote this…in case you…YOU IDIOT! But…where are you? Why can't I see you?"

I heard Ed laugh softly. 'I don't quite know the details myself, I could guess, though.'

"But I sacrificed myself for you! Shouldn't I be dead?"

Ed took a deep breath. 'Al, I figured when you did that, your soul joined your body and mind and you became whole again. I sacrificed my life here for yours.'

"…What do you mean 'here?'" He wasn't making any sense at all.

'When Lyra sent me to The Gate before, I saw Dad there. Not in The Gate, but _through_ The Gate. There's another side of The Gate, another world. It's a world without alchemy. Dad is trapped there. I planned on sending myself there to send you here, but The Gate took only my body. I guess you subconsciously wouldn't let go of me and now I'm kind of stuck here as…nothing but a soul.'

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "But Brother, wouldn't you need to be attached to something?"

'Yea, I thought that, too. But then I remembered Teacher. The Gate took her internal organs, but she learned to live without them. The Gate took my body so I can learn to live without that. But then I thought about how I had to save you all those years ago and I finally came to the conclusion that my soul is somehow attached to you right now.'

I stayed quiet and thought it out. "Weird…but I guess that makes sense…but no way am I letting you go now that everything is finally going right."

~*~ Edward

'Al, I'm gonna go talk to Winry. I…kind of want to be alone with her.'

He nodded and I watched as his eyes softened. I missed that face so damn much. Just like I'm going to miss Winry so damn much. And alchemy so damn much. WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS? I watched as Al stretched and curled his fingers. He smiled and I saw joy shining from his eyes.

_That's_ why I did it.

I glanced down. I could see myself fine, but they couldn't see me. My automail was gone…but I guess souls aren't really compatible with automail. My arm and leg were back, but they weren't physical. Not yet anyway. I'll work on that next. Al came first.

I found Winry sobbing in her room. I tried to think of how to let her know I was here without startling her. I breathed loudly for a moment. She glanced up. "Edward?"

My eyes started watering again. Damn it. I guess passion dictates the eyes of the soul. My voice was a whisper. 'Winry.' I sat next to her on the bed. I put my hand on her face. Her eyes widened.

"Edward! I can see you!" She gasped. "You're arm! You're whole again!" I curiously moved my hand away from her face. "You're gone again!" I smirked and quickly moved beside her and but my face close to hers. I touched her hand and she jumped when she saw my face. I started cracking up and pulled her into a hug. I was somewhat tangible, so she wrapped her hands around my invisible body. I moved my hands to her face. I slid my fingers through her hair a little and pulled her into a kiss.

I cautiously opened my lips, silently asking her if it was okay. She surprised me with an anxious response. I laughed softly. Tears fell down our cheeks. 'I just had to.' I paused every so often between our kisses to say what I needed to. 'I had to know.' 'What it's like.' 'To kiss you right.'

She pulled away, but left our foreheads touching. I stared at her while she kept her eyes closed. How did I ever say she wasn't cute or sexy? She's definitely both. "Edward, you didn't answer me before. Are you-"

'Winry, relax. Please just-'

"EDWARD! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!" She bit her lip. "Tell me. Now."

I held my breath for a few seconds. I let it out in a deep sigh. 'I don't know, Winry. I don't know. The plan was to go to the other side of The Gate, ask Al about it. I don't feel like explaining it again. But I got stuck here. My body is in The Gate right now waiting for my soul to join it so I can continue on to the other world.'

She opened her eyes. The cold blue flames penetrated…well, my soul. "But…either way…I won't see you again, will I."

The words ripped a tear out of my eye. It wasn't a question. We both knew the answer. 'Damn it, Winry. I _will_ see you again. Once I get myself back together, I'll probably end up over there, but I _swear_ to you. I don't care if my dad couldn't. _I_ will get back. I'll be back to take care of Al. I swear.'

She closed her eyes and kissed me gently. "I never responded to you before because I thought it was just in my head. You said-"

'I love you, Winry Rockbell.'

She blushed. "Yea…that. I love you, too. My heart ached while you were gone."

I lifted an eyebrow in interest. 'When was that?'

"Um…" Her eyebrows furrowed in thought and I kissed her forehead. She blushed. "This morning, I guess."

My head dropped a little. 'Yea, I thought you'd say that. I died this morning.'

She fell backwards a little and opened her eyes wide. We lost contact and she couldn't see me. "WHAT?"

I waved my hands like crazy, not like she could see. 'No, Al brought me back.' I ground my teeth. 'That bastard, Envy. He's my dad's first kid. The bastard killed me. I need to go kill him sometime. It's not often dead people get a chance to avenge their own deaths.'

"No, Edward!" She jumped forward, guessing that I hadn't moved. Luckily, I hadn't. She smiled when she looked into my eyes. Then she grew serious. "Just…stay with me. For as long as you can. Stay with me."

We both knew how impossible that would be, but coming from her… I just couldn't say anything to deny I wouldn't try. I bent my head so our foreheads touched. "Damn you, Winry." She giggled at the smile in my voice. I kissed her again.


	13. Chapter 13

[[Note: I rewrote the beginning of chapter ten. I keep repeating this because I don't know if anyone noticed yet…I just don't want people to be confused later on]]

Winry and I were lying in her bed, holding onto each other tightly, unwilling to lose each other. I thought about where I would be in my future: either dead or without alchemy…without Al. Without Winry.

I knew the day would have to come and the possibilities were less that I would die and more that I would get stuck with my dad. I kissed Winry on the cheek and pulled her arms out from around me. "What's wrong, Edward? …Edward?"

I got up and went to my room. Al was asleep and no one would be able to find me if they couldn't see me. I tried to think of ways to open The Gate without alchemy, but it just wasn't possible! How could I possibly get it to open for me _and_ let me back through? I sighed. It just wouldn't happen. I would have to leave it to Al to pull me through. Maybe I could get Dad through too…

I stopped myself for a moment. When had I started to refer to that bastard as Dad? I guess it was in the other world. Dying and hearing him call my name was etched into my memory. His voice was so dead…like the Ed over there. I was controlling his body and he died. Because of me...

I widened my eyes in shock. Damn it! If he died because of me, what went wrong to make that equal? Or has it not been balanced yet? If I die trying to get there as payment for that mistake…I'll never forgive myself.

"Edward? Are you in here?" Winry was whispering. She glanced at the bed and saw what must've been the indent and shape of my body under the sheets. It made me curious about something…are souls able to move through things like ghosts? Aren't ghosts just lost souls? Am I a ghost? But I'm not lost…yet…

As soon as I thought about moving through things I fell through the bed just a little. 'UWAH!'

Winry smiled. "I knew you were here! But be quiet, I don't want you to wake Al!"

I found myself able to float back up and quickly got excited. Edward Elric. He can fly.

I zoomed around the room, not caring if I ran into things because I allowed myself to move through things. I went to zoom around Winry but she took a step forward. My arm slid through her cheek and I shuddered uncomfortably. Winry had been able to see me for that brief second. "Are you flying?" She giggled. "It's Peter Pan! The boy who can't grow up!"

I frowned and stood in front of her. I took her hand so she could see me. "You say can't grow up…"

"You're short, Edward."

"WINRY ROCKBELL I AM TALLER THAN YOU."

She glanced down at my feet with one eyebrow cocked. "So you're not slightly floating right now?" I let go of her hand and took advantage of my invisibility. She sighed. "Aw, Edward. I'm just kidding. Come on now."

She held her hand out. I waited to touch her until I was in the most opportune spot for a good scare. I hovered upside down but kept our eyes even. I reached up…or, down…and grabbed her hand. "OH MY- …EDWARD!"

I felt one side of my mouth slip into a smile. My voice was a whisper. "I'm just your friendly, neighborhood alchemist." I kissed her while I was still upside down.

Then I felt it. The pull. I realized I didn't have much time left. Winry felt me tense up. She pulled away and I righted myself so my feet were on the ground (floating an inch above actually, I refuse to let her be too close to my height). "What's wrong, Edward?"

I let go of her hand. Why the hell am I suddenly so emotional? I've never cried so much in my life as I had this week. Though I guess dying does that to you…makes you realize what you'll miss.

Al's stubbornness could only save me for so long. He can't fight The Gate forever. It's trying to pull me through. I stared into Winry's eyes and grabbed her hand again, not bothering to wipe away the tears. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern when she saw the tears. "Edward?"

I shook my head to cut her off. "Winry…we're both adults now and I'll be gone soon."

She frowned. "Don't talk like that."

"I'm not about to lie. My pocket watch. I'm going to need someone to find it for me while I'm gone."

"EDWARD DON'T TALK LIKE THAT."

"There's no other way to talk. You're acting like you'll never see me again." I smiled. "I'm not a pushover, Winry. I _will_ be back. And whole." I felt lightheaded as another wave hit me. The Gate wanted it's payment and it wanted it now. I bit my lip and kept on a guise of playfulness. "We've got a little more time so-"

"A little? What do you mean? I thought we had a lot…"

I staggered as another wave hit me. "Definitely not a lot…"

~*~ Winry

A tear was ripped from my eye. "No, Edward! ALPHONSE! WAKE UP!" He blinked his eyes open.

I dragged Edward next to Al's bed so they could be in contact and Al could see him. I sat next to Edward and held his hand like we were high school sweet hearts. He had his other hand in a face palm and his breathing was shallow. He swayed a little. "I think I might have a minute or two." His face turned determined. "If I can find a way to contact you I will, but I won't have alchemy there." He clapped his hands together and I watched as he transmuted part of his soul into a black rose. He put it down and asked if I could see it, I couldn't. He picked it up and handed it to me. "I'm not sure if it'll last, but if it does, you'll have a physical as well as a figurative piece of my soul."

I smiled with a glint of laughter in my eyes. "When did you become a romantic?"

He blushed. "The day I kissed you for the first time…" He seemed to realize something and I found him in the corner on all fours. "So all these emotions and tears are your fault. Thanks, Winry." I dragged him back to the bed again. He gasped and his form flickered. "I guess this is it."


	14. Chapter 14

Edward vanished. I bit my lip. My hand felt weak where his hand had held mine. I put my hands over my eyes and felt fresh tears slide down my cheek. Al had a comforting hand on my back, but there were tears in his eyes too.

~*~ Edward

I'd expected to wake up in that other world, but I found myself at The Gate first. As usual, I turned to face the…whatever it was.

_Edward Elric. It's like we're close friends now. We see each other so often._

"Tch. Yea yea, get to the point. I know you want something. You always do."

It smiled. _So I've noticed you wish to come back but you also realize there's no way to get here without alchemy. Well, I want you to do me a favor and I will EQUALLY repay you. That's right up your alley, right? Equality?_

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "What kind of favor are you talking about?"

It's smile grew wider. _You haven't been there very long, but the people through The Gate are having some problems. Problems only I can solve. But as you are aware, there is no way for me to contact those people. Unlike you. You're going to be my messenger. But don't worry, it won't last very long. And I won't even ask for a toll when you come just to chat. _

_Now what I want is this. I want to find a human body I can control so I don't have to use a middle man. You'll find this is much like the story of those people's religion. A God who comes down to earth. I know, Edward, you don't believe in God. But that's beside the point right now._

_You of all people would know that humans cannot make other humans with alchemy. But they can create other humans naturally. Like you've said before, 'Humans are awesome.' _

I was following what he was saying, but I was hoping I didn't understand too well. If the conclusion I've gotten to is true… "Please tell me you don't expect me to-"

_If you fail at finding someone else for the job then I may expect you to create a life yourself._

"NO WAY IN HELL. I've a girl to come back to now! And by the way, you pulled me away at a bad time! I was going to ask her to…" I lost some anger at the thought. "I was going to ask her to marry me…when I got back."

It smiled yet again. _Ooohh. This is dramatic. The only way to get back to your beloved is to betray your beloved!_

Some of the anger returned again. "Hey! You said I wouldn't have to resort to that!"

_Just think about it logically. How many people do you know would give up their child?_ _I'm asking you to convince them to give up their child completely as if it were never born. Who would do that? Who would have reason to do that?_

I knew the answer to that last question, at least. Me. I have reason to. I crinkled my nose. "This is so messed up. What if I say-"

_If you say no? Then you're stuck there forever dreaming about your beloved Winry._

My heart ached at her name. When would I see her next? "This isn't possible though! No one in their right mind would risk having a child with someone they don't love and how could someone possibly love me since I'll never be able to love them back? I'm taken!"

It laughed. _This world you're going to isn't quite so strict on its morals. That's one reason I need to go and fix it._

I stared at it blankly. This entire situation was unbelievable. "So you want me to take advantage of a problem you want to solve? How does that solve the problem?" I sighed. I felt defeated. I pleaded. "I just want to be with Winry. And Al and everyone."

It smiled. _Then I believe our conversation is over._ I heard laughter as I was tugged, yet again, through The Gate.

"DAMN YOU!"

[[Note: I do not think of the thing at The Gate to be God even though I've used biblical references. That's like saying that I think Edward is Spiderman because of the last chapter. Just clarifying…]]


	15. Chapter 15

I opened my eyes to find myself in the same room I'd woken up in before only this time, the reflection in the mirror wasn't quite the same. My black outfit and red cloak were there. I lifted up my sleeve and my pant leg. Great. No one here knows how to fix automail. I'm going to have to treat this like Winry had always expected me to. No fighting. I made a face at myself in the mirror. How am I going to stay in shape if I can't fight?

Though…if there's no fighting, there really isn't a reason for me to stay in shape… I shook off the thought. Pride. Pride is always a reason to stay in shape. My stomach grumbled as I realized it hadn't eaten for about a day. Not nearly as long as Al…damn it. Is there any way to contact them? I told them I'd try… But first things first, I've got to eat. Hunger makes me unfocused. I made my way to the main room to find my dad crying. I stopped in mid step. "_Trisha._ I'm so sorry I can't watch over our boys. How old are they now? I forget, is Edward 17?"

"I'm 16, Dad."

He looked up in disbelief. "Edward? Did you just call me-?" I laughed. Of course that would be more shocking than me being here. Then he grew upset. "You're stuck here now, aren't you?" His face fell back into his hands. "What caused this?" I looked down uncomfortably and was about to start talking. He waved me over to the couch. "Come. Sit. Tell your story."

I told him about Envy killing me, Al saving me, me saving Al, Al not letting go of me, The Gate pulling me over, and I hesitated at what happened at The Gate.

My dad looked concerned. "Edward? What happened after that?"

I wondered why I wasn't telling him. Maybe because it's just plain awkward. And unbelievable. Then again this is _my_ dad. I'm sure he'd believe anything. "Um…you have seen that…thing at The Gate, right?" He nodded. "Well, it offered me a deal."

His eyes grew wide. "A deal? That's unheard of! It offered you a chance to go back?"

I bit my lip. "Yes…but I have to do it a favor that is…not really doable."

"Does it want you to kill someone?"

I laughed without humor. "That may have just been easier. No, it wants to come down here and speak to these people so it can help fix them."

Hoenheim nodded his head understanding. "This world is corrupt. It needs fixing. Where do you come in?"

I remained silent for awhile thinking of the least awkward way to phrase this. "It needs a body to control in order to speak to the people here. It wanted me to find a person who is willing to give up their child. I assume the child would be born soulless. But then comes the problem of who would give up their child."

My dad didn't look concerned. "Lots of people give up their children here. Before they're even born. It's called abortion."

I froze. "What kind of horror story is that? Murdering the unborn?"

He shook his head. "I thought the same thing, but the parents make that decision for themselves. They choose to not have a child, but that's after the child already has a life."

My thoughts went back to Lyra and her example of why equivalent exchange isn't real. I shook it off. My hunger was taking my thoughts on random trains of thought. Focus, Ed. Focus. "So we just tell them to let the child live and then I'm done!"

He cringed. "None of the people who are in that situation want to go through the pains of pregnancy so why would they do that if a person they didn't know asked them to?"

I felt frustration building. "Damn it! This world is crazy!"

He looked at me expectedly. "You seemed to have something else to add on."

Damn his observation skills. "It gave me another option…"

There was an awkward silence as I hesitated again. "It said if I couldn't find someone to give up their child that I'd have to…um…that it'd have to be me. I'd give up…my child." I cringed and my dad looked appalled.

"Edward! You're sixteen!"

My eyes filled with teenage attitude. "THAT'S WHAT I SAID! Well, not exactly, but I was equally outraged. Though if I wait long enough, I will get older and…." I cringed, knowing it was a lie. "Maybe I'll find someone."

He shook his head. "That's ridiculous. Everyone knows you're in love with Winry."

"WHAT THE HELL? HOW DOES EVERYONE KNOW THAT?"

He smiled with a twinge of humor in his eyes. "You don't exactly hide it. You blush too easily…like right now."

I frowned and put my hands over my face to block the blush. "I'll go back to calling you bastard, I swear I will."

A song started playing from somewhere near him. It sounded odd and flat. My dad pulled out an odd device and flipped it open. He started speaking into it. "Yes…yes I know I'm late. Something came up. I'll be taking the day off. I apologize for the inconvenience. Yes, it's an emergency. Goodbye."

I stared at him, shocked. "What is that thing?"

He smiled, amused. "This world has advanced technology. Instead of only having phone booths, you can actually carry around a portable phone. Cool, isn't it?"

I looked at it and knew under normal circumstances I wouldn't be able to take my eyes off it, but I'd already figured it wouldn't allow me to talk to Al or Winry so it's as useless as Mustang on a rainy day.

"So more about this world you've just come to. There are people here who look exactly like the people where we're from."

I interrupted him. "Like the boy that died when I was here last."

He looked shocked. "He didn't die. Yes, he's at the hospital, but he's not dead."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "I thought I killed him!"

He smiled. "You're not that dangerous, Ed."

"I swear, if you make that into a short joke…"

He rose his hands in surrender. "I wasn't planning on it. But like I said, there are people here who look like people there."

My heart started beating as my thoughts got to the conclusion faster than his words. "Winry…Al…Al has a normal body in this world, doesn't he! Oh, that's so great! I can see his face again! …Mom! Is mom here?"

He stopped me before I got ahead of myself. Well, I already had. "I've spoken to this Edward a lot. He says his mother died of a heart attack when he was young and his father is a teacher at a university out of country and never comes home."

"How does he afford to live here then?"

"He works multiple jobs. And his father sends him some money from time to time. I've also started pitching in since I've started to live with him and Alphonse."

My heart soared. "Alphonse! How come I didn't see Alphonse last time I was here?"

"Edward was skipping school to get some more work time in and Alphonse was in school."

I squirmed. "So if there's going to be two Edwards, should we have nicknames? It's getting rather uncomfortable to refer to someone else with the same name. Plus we'll look exactly alike… and if we act anything alike, I bet he'll ask me to take his spot at work or school sometimes so he can work more."

The door opened behind me and a bright young face lit up the room. After all these years of dangerous and painful work, what I'd always been hoping to see was right here. "Alphonse…"


	16. Chapter 16

As expected, Edward and Alphonse both freaked when they saw me. "What the hell kind of freak show are you?"

I closed my eyes and tried to contain the anger. I failed. "WHY IS MY FIRST IMPRESSION ALWAYS A FREAK SHOW OR CIRCUS PERFORMER?"

Alphonse's eyes went wide. "Woah, he even screams like you too, Brother. I wonder if he does short rants."

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL! I'LL CUT OFF YOUR FEET AND STICK THEM ON YOUR HEAD!"

Edward started laughing. "That was a good one! Man, I think I'll use that one! You're alright. So you're from the same place as him?" He gestured toward my dad. "That'd make you his actual son, right? Is Alter Al here too?"

"Alter? Is that what you're gonna call us? To me, you're the Alter Ed."

I looked around the hospital room we'd driven to when Alphonse got home. I sat in the back of the car and covered my eyes. I'd had one too many bad memories of those highway things. I stared at the result of that drive. Alter Ed with a broken right arm and left leg. I could almost laugh at the situation. I was thankful my automail was still in good condition.

Alter Ed kept questioning me. "So is there a reason you're stuck here like him? Oh! Do you have a girlfriend? Is it someone I know here? Maybe if you're with someone there and she has an Alter her here, I could find her and…"

He kept talking, but Alter Ed was getting on my nerves. He just never stopped talking and all he cared about was girls.

"Brother!" Alphonse wined and the sound wrenched at my heart. It's the same voice. The same face. "Why do you have to talk to him about stuff like that? Why can't you talk about your research? You care more about that than you do girls. You just talk about girls to impress the guys at school."

He got defensive. "Well you would too if people came up with reasons to tell you not to join the basketball team. If I didn't look as awesome as I do, I wouldn't stand a chance in high school."

Alphonse sighed. "That's not true. You'd do fine in high school. You just wouldn't be 'in' with the popular kids. Why does that matter to you?"

Alter Ed and I spoke at the same time. "It's a pride thing, you wouldn't understand."

We glanced at each other and shared a look of appreciation.

"But since you asked, I'm stuck here because I died. Then Al saved me by giving up his life, so when I got back, I traded myself for him again and wound up here. And…yes. I did…do have a girlfriend."

Alter Ed's eyes went wide. "Who."

My dad looked kind of uncomfortable. "Edward, it may not be the best idea to tell him just yet."

I glanced up at him curiously. "What harm could it do? Is this a time space continuum thing?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Just the situation…is difficult."

Alter Ed's eyes grew wide. His voice was soft. "It's Winry, isn't it?"

I looked at him uncertainly. "Umm…yea. What don't I know?"

My dad pulled me out of the room. When the door closed he started whispering. "Winry has been painfully obvious about her feelings and…well Edward…hasn't. I'm honestly not even sure if he likes her. Alphonse joked that he may be gay, but-"

"Woah, woah! No way any version of me is gay. I promise you, even though the situation leans toward that result and if I hadn't known this person I'd have come to the same conclusion, that guy is still me and I…" I thought of Winry and felt my cheeks redden. "I'm definitely not gay."

My dad cocked an eyebrow. "What exactly happened with you and Winry while I've been gone?"

My face went red. I walked back into Alter Ed's hospital room. "Nothing nothing at all let's get back to them now."

I heard amusement in my dad's voice. "Edward…I have the right to know if you want to marry this girl."

My foot hovered in mid step. I slowly turned to face him. I saw his expression turn shocked as he noticed the seriousness and passion in my eyes. I felt a fire light my soul. "I didn't get the chance to ask her. I promised her, when I get back…I've got to get back."


	17. Chapter 17

After the hospital visit, Dad drove Alphonse and I home. Then he left for work and Alphonse went to his room to do homework. I was lounging on the couch flipping through a list of jobs. Not even here a day and I'm put to work. And apparently they want me to dress differently too. I had a serious complaint about being without my coat. They said if I could make it into a hoodie, I could wear it. But I'd have to do it by hand in this world…It'll be worth the effort.

Suddenly my vision went white and I saw the damn Gate again. "What the hell do you want now?"

It smiled. _You know, I really do like you. You got spunk._

I rolled my eyes. "Get on with it."

_I want to make you another deal_.

"No. Okay now send me back to that alchemy-less hell hole."

_Oh. You're a good guesser. That's exactly what the deal is for. Alchemy._

I tried to ignore the offer, but that was irresistible. "What do you mean?"

It smiled too much and it was starting to piss me off. _I'll give you back your alchemy. In the world you currently live. You'll be the only person in existence there with such a power. You'd be like a god._

I laughed. "You're getting my ambitions confused with that bastard, Mustang." Despite the harsh sounding words, I was starting to miss my anger management sessions I had with him. I really got some good yelling in whenever he was around.

_But it's not your ambitions I need to be correct on, it's your wants. And you want alchemy…and Winry._

I blushed. "Damn you. Get on with it. What do you want in return?"

_Nothing._

The white space was silent. Doubt filled it in. "I don't believe you. Equivalent exchange doesn't know nothing."

_Well the equivalent exchange we previously made wasn't quite even so this evens it out._

I could understand that. "But what makes you so nice now?"

_Whoever said I wasn't nice?_

I was really getting pissed off now. "Just cut to the end already!"

_Well, if I must. You will go back to that world with alchemy. How you use it is up to you, but you may want to follow some of the ideas of the homunculi in Leor. Power people don't understand looks a lot like a miracle. That may be a way to convince someone to give up a child if you say they're giving their child to God._

I gritted my teeth. "I don't lie about that kind of stuff. Just send me back and I'll figure something out."

It didn't send me back, but for a moment, I thought I caught a blurry glimpse of… "Winry?"

I heard a feminine gasp. "E-Edward? Oh! The rose! I left it right…here!"

When she grasped the rose, my sight cleared up and I could see her face. I was a thin wispy fraction of a soul, but here she was. "Winry Rockbell, I will never get tired of telling you I love you."

She blushed. "Edward, I missed you."

With the sudden opportunity, I knew I had to share my situation. "Listen Winry, I've got to talk to you about something…you're not going to be very happy with." She started to speak. "No, hold on. I don't know how much time I have. You see, I made this deal and I've got to help…let's call him The Gatekeeper. Long story short, it needs a human body. Even with alchemy, that's not possible. Well, unless you have the philosopher stone, but I never want to deal with that ever again. It asked me to find a woman willing to give up her child to be its puppet. The chances of that happening aren't very high. It said if I couldn't find someone else to give up a child that…I'd have to give up mine. Winry, it wants me to betray you and that's the only way to get back to you and _I'm only sixteen_ and Winry Rockbell, I do not want to even look at anyone other than you." I hesitated and blushed. I shook my head. I was speaking too fast. I didn't mean to be so bluntly honest.

"Edward, I know you'll do all you can to get back here and if you have to…resort to…that…" A tear fell down her cheek. "Please find another way, Ed. I can't imagine how bad that would feel just thinking about you with someone else like that."

Finally giving in, I rushed forward and kissed her. I felt myself being pulled away but damn it, I wasn't wasting anytime. With the last few moments I had, I whispered to her. "When I get back, I'm going to ask you to marry me. I don't care how old we are." I kissed her again until she faded away and I was at The Gate again.

The hope that had been building sloshed inside of me and died. "At least you let me finish my conversation this time."

_Don't think I was being nice. I was tugging you back with everything I had. If you want to credit someone for that length, thank your brother. You two are connected and I don't like it. I always play one against one. You're double teaming me._

"Just send me back now, I'm ready to go back."

The voices were muffled at first but I blinked away the blackness. "Edward! Thank God! You're awake! I thought you'd never wake up! You're a heavy sleeper!"

" 'Thank God?' Alphonse, are you religious?"

He shook his head. "It's just a saying. Brother and I are totally scientists. God isn't provable and therefore inexistent." I nodded at the familiar theory. I brought my fingers to my lips and sighed slowly.

My dad walked in. "Am I interrupting something?"

Alphonse startled at the words, but I just mumbled a response. "Just a memory…Oh, so I was just at The Gate. Made another deal." I clapped my hands and transmuted my cloak into a hoodie. I smiled happily. "No sewing!"

Alphonse looked horrified and intrigued at the same time. Then he looked determined. "Teach me."


	18. Chapter 18

"I can't teach you. I'm the only one here who has the power of alchemy."

Al's eyes grew wide. "Alchemy? But that's just a myth! No one can do alchemy. Even Newton attempted and failed and he was a genius!"

I cocked my eyebrow. I have to look into this Newton guy and see if I can top him. "Like I said though, I can't teach you. Not cause I don't want to, I simply can't. Only I can do alchemy. I made an unbalanced deal and this was the Gatekeeper's way of keeping things balanced."

Al looked like he wasn't taking me seriously and it was frustrating me. "The Gatekeeper? What is this, a bad sci-fi movie?" He started laughing. I felt an arrow slowly begin to penetrate my chest. "What're you gonna say next? That the world you live in is different. You have things there that are special and not available in this world." He paused as the arrow was pushed deeper into my chest. "Oh and then of course there would be a short flash and a shot of your love interest would appear on the screen cause you're thinking about her."

The arrow shot through me and I retreated to the corner. I replied in a monotone. "I like my Al better. You're so much meaner than he could ever be."

As if I flipped a switch, he suddenly turned back into nice Al. "What?" He looked panicked and concerned. "What'd I say wrong? Was that offensive? I'm so sorry!"

I took a deep breath and stood up. I was starting to like this hoodie. It was so comfortable. I glanced up at Alter Al to see him laughing a little. My voice was strained. "What now!"

He cowered back a little. "Nothing…it's just…I just realized you're wearing leather pants."

"…your point?"

He shrugged but kept glancing back at me. "I haven't seen anyone wear leather pants before…"

All expression left my face. "So I guess I'll have to change my pants, too."

Dad shook his head. "No, I think all you can keep is your shirt and hoodie. Well…maybe the shirt. A t-shirt might be better."

My jaw dropped. "I CAN'T EVEN KEEP MY BOOTS?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Not many people have leather boots, Edward."

I grew frustrated and waited for Alter Al to bring me some of Alter Ed's clothes. After all, he was my size… "I'M NOT SMALL!" I ran to a room and locked the door. I should've just changed and went back out, but…I just couldn't help thinking about how I'd just been with Winry. I had to try to see her again. I tried to control myself and forced myself to focus on the clothes I'd been given. I think the dark "skinny jeans" as they called them were a joke, but they looked close to my leather pants. They'd given me a shirt like the one Alter Ed had been in when I'd first been to this world. I stared at it as my mind drifted back to how to talk to Winry again and if next time I could talk to Al too. I shook my head and slipped off my hoodie and shirt. I glanced into the mirror for a brief second when I realized the transmutation circle I'd drawn on my chest had scarred. I checked my arms and forehead, but the only one that scarred was on my chest. It was the main one, so it made sense. I thought about how I'd drawn that with shaky hands. I thought it would take my life at the moment I finished the circle. I thought about how I brought Al back…damn it I want to talk to them _now_.

My vision went fuzzy and I suddenly made the connection. I guess being demanding gets results. Every time I made a demand with the word 'now' it seemed to happen. But maybe that was just because I got more passionate about it when I said now.

"Winry!" Everything was still fuzzy since no one was there to grab the rose. It was hard to focus without someone helping.

I heard a lot staggering footsteps down the hall. "Brother?"

I almost cried right there. Seeing him using Winry and Granny Pinako as crutches broke my heart. I was so used to Alter Al's normality. "You need a haircut, Alphonse."

Winry grabbed the rose as soon as she'd helped Al into his bed. She ran into my arms and kissed me. Of course, time was important so as much as I didn't want to break away, I had to. If Al was the one whose strength was holding me here, I couldn't waste it. He needed as must as he could get. Winry didn't release her hug. "Yes, Edward."

I looked _down_ into her eyes with a hint of confusion. "Yes, what?"

She blushed and glanced at the two behind her. "You know, what you said before."

I blushed too. "Um…haha. That was kind of…not thought through. I meant it, but we are still sixteen. We're gonna have to wait a while."

She laughed. "Edward. I said yes."

I glanced at her eyes of icy flames. I was sure mine matched hers. "Yes. You did." I closed my eyes and kissed her again, despite my previous thoughts on the matter.

Pinako cleared her voice from behind us. "You children done yet?" Winry and I both blushed…again.

I cleared my throat and got serious. "Listen, I have to find a way to make things even with the Gatekeeper. When I do that, I can come back." My vision blurred for a moment. "Uh I think I have less time than before. Alphonse, you get healthy. Winry..." I reached out my hand to her face and she came close and put her hands on my bear chest. I hadn't finished changing. My vision blurred again. I kissed her forehead and woke up in hell again. This time I had a headache too.

"Edward! Edward are you alright?" There was a lot of thudding on the bathroom door. I reached up from where I'd collapsed on the floor to unlock it. I rubbed the back of my head where I'd hit it against the counter when I fell.

"Yea, I'm fine. I got to see Winry again, but I don't think I'll be able to go back again. At least if I have to resort to…well, what I don't want to resort to, she knows about it. That makes me feel a little better… Damn it, I miss them already." I pulled on the t-shirt and my hoodie. "I'm gonna go wander around the neighborhood and get a feel for this place." I tried to contain my unhappiness as I said. "I'll probably be here for awhile."

I made note of every turn I made and wandered around the town. I passed by a police car waiting to catch someone making a wrong move. I stared into the window of that car for about a minute until I said, "Well if it isn't the military's favorite bastard…" I walked over and knocked on the window. He rolled it down much to my fascination, but I tried to conceal it.

His face was a scowl. "I thought you were in the hospital. And when'd your hair get so long?"

I smiled at the familiar voice. At least I still had someone to mess with. "You've got me confused with someone else."

He looked at me confused. "Edward, stop messing with me."

I grinned. "I've never met you before, I swear. Ask me anything, I won't know!" I started laughing. Man, this was great. Mustang got pissed.

"Edward. Evans. Do _not_ mess with me."

I made note of the last name. "But I'm not Edward Evans, I'm Edward Elric. I'm new here. Just moved in with Mr. Evans actually." I dropped all pretenses of joking and became completely serious. No need to give him too much trouble. After all, it's only my first day.

Mustang's jaw dropped. "Oh God, you're not kidding." He grew uneasy. "I'm sorry for the confusion, Mr. Elric. Welcome to the town. My name is Roy Mustang."

"Nice to meet you, Mustang."

He nodded. "So where are you from?"

I laughed. "Not here."

He frowned. "Um…okay. So you'll be in high school now, right? Are you sure you have no relation to the Evans? You're identical to Ed…"

I shook my head. "Nope, no relation. And yea, I'll be in high school. I'm taking freshmen History, junior English, and college Science and Math. Still deciding on my electives."

Mustang looked startled. "Such a variety of levels?"

I nodded, pleased to mess with Mustang's head so much. "I didn't get much History from where I'm from. Any suggestions for electives?"

He shrugged, still shocked. "Sports if you want. I don't know. There's a good music program."

It grew silent as I thought. "Music?"

He nodded. "Band, orchestra, choir…"

I thought about it more… "Music…that might be…interesting. But I don't like singing…"

Mustang's lips curved into a small smile. "Can you sing? I know Ed Evans never attempted to hum a single note. Must be a reason for that. If you're so identical, maybe you share something other than looks."

He glanced at my head and I knew he was checking my height. I mumbled a response. "I _can_ sing. I just don't like to…" I drummed my fingers against the car door. "I'm interesting in playing an instrument. Might as well take advantage of my time here… Plus I hear ladies like musicians."

Mustang cocked an eyebrow at me. "So you are truly no different than Ed… Maybe I should introduce you to Winry…" He paused. "Get in the car."

I thought about everything that could go wrong with me being introduced to Alter Winry. No way in hell was I letting that meeting happen. "Maybe another time!" I ran off before he could say anything.

"Oh no you don't!" I ran into another person. I glanced up and nearly cried. The rectangular glasses, smiling eyes, black hair, wallet of photos.

I felt stupid as a tear fell down my cheek but I couldn't help it. "Hughes…"

He was surprised by the tear. "What's wrong? Come here, we'll let Mustang handle this." He grabbed my shoulder and sat me in the back of the car. He sat in the passenger seat. The tears flowed freely as I watched Hughes, alive and well, walk in front of the car. It was like a miracle.

Mustang looked confused and uncomfortable. "Maybe we should just take you home. You said you live with the Evans, right?"

Hughes looked surprised. "That's not Edward?"

Mustang shook his head and started driving. I hid my face from their prying eyes. "His first name is Edward, but his last name is Elric."

Hughes unsuccessfully whispered to Mustang. "But they're identical!"

They continued talking but I just listened to his voice. The voice I thought I'd never hear again. The face I thought would never smile again. The eyes I thought would never shine again.


	19. Chapter 19

The car ride was silent for awhile. Finally when, I controlled myself and used the sleeves of my hoodie to wipe the tears away, Mustang asked me what was wrong. I smiled. "It's hard to explain. Let's just say Hughes reminds me of someone I used to know. He passed away."

Their eyes grew wide and Hughes head hung in sorrow. "I'm sorry to have been a reminder."

I laughed. "No way, it's a great memory to remember. He was a great guy. Loved his family and friends. Didn't have an ounce of bad in him." Mustang glanced at Hughes probably thinking the description fit his friend.

With the confusion cleared up, the tension in the car dissipated. We pulled up to the house and I stared out the window. They looked at me confused. "You getting out?"

I shook my head. "I was in the middle of showing myself the town. I didn't intend to be back so soon. All I've seen is this road and Mustang."

Hughes grinned. "You seem to have developed the same relationship with Roy that Edward Evans has."

Mustang sighed. "Fine. We'll take you around. You're lucky I'm in charge of the station or I'd be in trouble."

I laughed. "Making your way up the ranks? What, want to be Fueror?"

"Fueror?" They looked at each other confused. Mustang shrugged. "My ambitions aren't _that_ high. But I'd like to be president someday. God knows this country could use a president with some common sense."

Hughes rolled his eyes. "You're lucky we live in a country with freedom of speech."

My eyes went wide. "Wait, what kind of government does this country have?"

"Representative democracy." They responded at the same time.

I smiled. "Democracy! What's this country called?"

They both looked at me with millions of questions. Mustang answered me. "America."

I laughed. "Wow. Sounds a lot like Amestris!"

"Is that where you're from?"

"Yea." I answered before thinking.

He looked at me confused. "I've never heard of it. I guess they speak English there though."

I grew frantic in my slip up. "Uh…yea."

Mustang looked pissed. "I know the name of every country in the world. Stop lying. Where are you from?"

I knew there was no fun and games after Mustang got serious. "Not here…"

He stopped the car and pulled over so he could yell at me without crashing. "Damn it, kid. Answer me."

I felt the challenge radiating from his eyes. There was no way I could resist it. I clapped and transmuted the window into a glass sword. Anger radiated from my eyes even more powerfully than his shock. I spoke through gritted teeth. "I _told_ you. I'm not from here." I got out of the car to cool down. I just couldn't stand Mustang talking down on me like that. Even if it's not the real Mustang. Still… I curled my hand into a fist.

"Elric!"

I ran up to punch Mustang, but was surprised to see Hughes with a throwing knife. "No you don't. We protect our superiors around here."

I tried to turn and walk away again, but Mustang managed to get a handcuff around my left wrist and his right wrist. "There. Now you're stuck with me and I suggest you tell me how you did that unless you want me to turn you in to the government at area 51." He muttered "not that it's real" but I didn't know what he was talking about either way.

My gaze focused on Hughes and I remembered how too much information caused his death. There was a chance that Mustang would tell Hughes after I told him, but there was also a chance Mustang could be trustworthy. "I'm only telling Mustang. It's not something a lot of people should know." Hughes looked surprised, but didn't argue.

Mustang literally dragged me into the car. He held up our locked together wrists. Of course, I could always escape with alchemy, but I gave him the authority he thought he had. "Now tell me what you know so I can unlock these."

At that point it was too tempting. I clapped and the handcuffs turned into a ball with an antenna like mine as they fell into his lap. He stared at the impossible thing he'd just seen. I then grabbed the glass sword I'd made and fixed the window. With the now sound proof surroundings, I could tell him my story. "You're not going to believe much of this. Even though you've seen what I can do, it'll still be unbelievable."

Mustang's eyes narrowed and he nodded. I sighed, knowing the memories were going to be a little more than painful. I wondered where to start. I could just skip to the part when I get here, but I felt like I needed someone to know the whole story. "My brother and I…our father left us and our mother died. We were desperate to have her back. It's never been done successfully, but we intended on learning alchemy to bring our mother back."

Mustang's eyes grew wide. "Alchemy? What on earth are you talking about? It doesn't exist."

I frowned. "Just shut up and listen." He looked surprised at my attitude, but complied. "Alchemy involves a principle called equivalent exchange. 'Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' We wanted a life, so it tried to take one of ours. It took my brother's whole body. If I hadn't gained the knowledge it showed me. That would've been the end for him. But I was able to trade my arm so I could bind his soul to a suit of armor and save him. That's why…" I took off my glove and hoodie. I also rolled up my pant leg. Mustang looked at my artificial limbs in awe. This world apparently didn't have automail. "I'm a part of the military. I'm a state alchemist. They call me the Fullmetal Alchemist."

His jaw dropped. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen. I joined when I was twelve." His eyes held deep pity, but a bit of understanding. "Anyway, our failed attempt at human transmutation resulted in a successful creation of a homunculus, an artificial human. It looked like our mother a little, but it wasn't. I killed her. And Greed. Then I went to find the bastard who was controlling them like puppets. Dante. She and my dad used to be real close. She'd already sent my dad so she sent me too. But I got back. My dad was already stuck. When I got back, I found Envy. I fought him with everything I had. I had to save my brother. They were gonna use him for…well I guess that's not important. But Envy killed me. Stabbed me through the heart. Hurt like hell. My brother didn't hesitate to save me. When I woke up…I already knew what happened. What he did. I traded my life there for my life here. I gave up any chance of seeing him, but…it's worth it. I know he's okay. He's getting better.

"So before, I kept saying 'it took this.' I'm referring to The Gate and the Gatekeeper. They take what you trade. Al got his body back from it and it still has my limbs. But I don't care about that anymore. I just want to get back to him…to Winry, too."

Mustang had been silently and sorrowfully listening, but at the names of Al and Winry he grew shocked. "Al and Winry? But they're here, what're you waiting for?"

I shook my head, laughing a little that he believed everything I said. "This is an alternate universe with alternate people. I knew a Mustang in that world. He's a great alchemist. He wants to be Fueror. And Hughes…Damn it. Hughes is dead in that world."

Mustang's eyes went blank in disbelief. Then he shook it off and patted my shoulder. "Well I guess we already know each other then. I know an alternate you and you know an alternate me."

I nodded. "I still haven't finished my story."

His eyes seemed to say: there's more?

"When I got to The Gate between worlds after sacrificing myself for my brother, the Gatekeeper made me a deal. If I help it, it will send me back home. It said this world is corrupt." Mustang nodded, agreeing. "It wants to talk to the people here and fix the corruption. But only alchemists can get to The Gate, so it wants a human to sacrifice its body and life to it so it can control them and fix all the problems. Whatever they are."

"So how do you plan to find a human willing to do this?"

I cringed. "Well, it said if I couldn't find someone…I'd have to…well I suppose I could give up myself but that wouldn't allow me to get back. It said I'd have to give up my child. NOT THAT I HAVE ONE. But if I have a child, in the future, how am I ever supposed to leave it? Even if it is just a puppet? Damn it. I can't do this! I need to find someone else. I'm not betraying Winry."

Mustang rose an eyebrow. "Loyal to Winry? Are you guys an item?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I looked at him like he was crazy. Then again, it _is_ Mustang…

He rolled his eyes. "A couple. Are you together? I guess you don't have the same 'lingo' there as we do here."

I nodded my head solemnly. "Yea…I practically proposed to her…" My heart lifted. "She said yes."

His eyes grew wider. "So why don't you want to see the Winry here then?"

I gritted my teeth. "That seems like a damn bad idea. I see her, it's like it's really Winry, I run up to kiss her, she thinks I'm Ed Evans, things get complicated."

He nodded. "Yea…that could happen. Can we make an agreement real fast?" I looked up at him curiously. "No more alchemy unless it's necessary."

I guessed that was fair. "Alright."

He called Hughes into the car. Hughes got in the driver's seat and started driving away from the house. Mustang spoke to Hughes. "Take us to the Rockbell's."

My eyes grew wide and I started panicking. "WHAT THE HELL?"

Mustang smiled that damn smile that means he knows he's being a bastard. Damn him.


	20. Chapter 20

We pulled up to the house and I could already hear it. The clanging of metal and tools was always present around Winry. Mustang practically dragged me out of the car. I glanced around knowing the clanging was getting closer. If I was being forced to, I might as well comply at this point. I saw a car with parts hanging off of it sitting in the garage. Grease stained overalls were all I could see with the shadow the way it was. Seeing us approaching, the figure moved out of the garage and into the sunlight.

It took everything I had in me to not kiss that beautiful face.

She looked at me shyly so I figured she thought I was Edward Evans. I casually titled my head, revealing my long hair. She seemed shocked. "Hi Edward…You grew out your hair? But…it was short…shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

I smiled. This Winry was a little different. She didn't have the same overwhelming confidence. She was actually rather shy. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm Edward Elric."

Her eyes grew terrified. "Elric?" I waited for her to ask if it was a prank. It was only sensible. "Edward would never say that name." Her eyes narrowed. "How dare you bring up such memories to him."

Mustang, Hughes and I looked at her confused. Mustang spoke up. "Winry, that's his name. He doesn't mean to be rude. Why is the name Elric so bad?"

I tried to cut him off, but he didn't seem to realize he should've stopped. Winry flipped out. "HOW DARE YOU BE SO INSENSITIVE!"

I stepped forward and put my hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "Listen. I know why they'd hate the name. Their mom, right? Well I lost my mom too. Same age they lost her. Same terrible way. I know that's hard to believe, but in case you didn't notice, I also look exactly like Edward Evans. And I'm going to guess that him and Alphonse changed their last names to get rid of the memories. They're not memories you can escape though…no matter what you burn down." I broke eye contact at the last few words. My hand twitched as it longed to brush the stray hairs out of her face.

Much to my surprise, she wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, trying in vain to not think of her as my girlfriend. Not that I asked Winry out, but I did kind of propose to her and she said yes so…I guess that makes her my fiancée… I smiled. I brought my lips to her ear and whispered her name.

I pulled away so fast. "Damn it. Mustang, this is all your fault." Winry looked at me confused, but she was blushing a little. "I'm sorry, Winry. I thought you were someone else."

She tried to keep the smile off her face. "But you whispered _my_ name."

I covered my eyes with my gloved hand. I let the cool metal behind the glove remind me of reality. "I know another Winry who looks a lot like you just how I look a lot like Edward. She's my fiancée."

I heard Mustang sputter behind me. Then I heard him and Hughes whispering something about me only being sixteen.

"Winry, I'll probably end up seeing you again. Mustang just wanted to be a bastard and introduce you to me. Good luck with the car." I turned and walked all the way back to the house, thankful for my sense of direction.

I didn't get too far when a car pulled up beside me. "Edward, get in the car."

I didn't even look over at Mustang. "Damn you."

Hughes stopped the car and got out. He dragged me into the car. I didn't have enough will to resist. Mustang looked at me, but I didn't make eye contact with either of them. I just listened to the sound of my heart breaking slowly, the hollow heart beat, the pulse of blood, the sound of my own breath, things that will always be mine. Mustang seemed upset. "Look, I get it. You can't talk to your girlfr- fiancée…so seeing someone who looks and acts a lot like her wasn't the best idea. I'm sorry."

I scoffed. "The Mustang I know, wouldn't have said sorry. He would've told me to grow up and he probably would've made fun of me and make my life even harder than he's already made it. Then I would call him a bastard and get back on track."

Hughes nodded. "That sounds like how Mustang normally is."

Mustang punched him in the arm and muttered, "Not helping."

I shrugged. "Just take me to the city. I have a job to do."

Mustang frowned. "I don't see how that job will ever be completed."

I closed my eyes and took a deep, frustrated breath. "Take me to the city. You've screwed with me enough already."

Hughes gestured to the steering wheel and Mustang unwillingly told him to drive.

I closed my eyes and hoped I could see Winry. The Gatekeeper said no more, but if I had enough strength in me, I should be able to beat it. I thought of her and the rose and Al and Den and Touto and even Pinako. My heart swelled with longing and I let my body fall into unconsciousness while my soul crossed through The Gate.

"Winry!" I glanced at her from where she was looking in the mirror. She had fitted the rose into her hair and she looked at me with indescribable relief. She fell into my arms as we both said "I thought I'd never see you again." I kissed her gently on the lips. "Winry, I don't know if I can stand this much longer. I met the Winry in this world today and I nearly kissed her thinking it was you."

She held me tightly. "I miss your automail. It's so unique."

I thumped her on the head gently. "That's all you've been thinking about? How's alchemy going for you?"

She tugged me toward her desk and showed me all the papers covered with circles. I threaded my fingers through hers. "Al's been teaching me some. Miss Izumi said she'd come by and teach me more fighting until Al could spar."

"Can I go talk to him? How's he doing?"

"Um…well not much different. It's only been a little while since you left."

I looked at her confused. "What do you mean? It's been a day and a half."

She looked worried. "Does time move differently there?"

Opportunity suddenly struck me. "You and I are seven months apart…"

"Edward, I'm older than you."

"Yes, but as I'm away from you, I'll be growing older than you." I smiled. Maybe good things could come out of this.

Winry laughed. "Edward, I don't think you'll ever grow."

I scowled. "Don't get me started, Winry Rockbell."


	21. Chapter 21

I walked off to Al's room and looked around the room that I guess was mine too, but it is just his for now. "Alphonse!" He was dressed and out of bed with a haircut and my old clothes. He looked up into the space that was empty, but he knew I was there.

He ran forward and I caught him in my arms. "Brother!" I cried. It sounds dumb, but here he was. My younger brother. Human and flesh again. Sure, he was skinnier than a twig, but he had a human body. He's been eating food from the list he made. He was so happy and healthy. He giggled. "I didn't realize all that I missed about being human. I could suddenly feel and smell and taste again. Your bed smells like our house did. It smells like home. And food is so delicious and I hugged Winry and she feels so warm and Touto is so soft." He cried too. All our work, finally paid off. This is what our hearts have wished for.

"Four years ago, Al. Four years ago I joined the army for this." I glanced up over Al's shoulder into the door way where Winry stood. She was able to see me because of the rose. I ruffled Al's hair and stepped out of his small, fragile arms. "Winry needs to talk to me, hold on."

I was thankful I could be strong for so long to keep myself here. I wondered if it was possible to stay here forever, but I don't think I could live like this. I walked over to Winry and she dragged me back to her room. I remembered how I'd discovered my floating capabilities and happily bounced through the air. She tried to throw something at me so I let it fly through me. I felt sick for a moment as it passed through. It was an odd feeling. "What's wrong, Winry."

She shook her head. "Just…who? Who will be the mother? If you have a child there…who would the mother be?"

I didn't have an answer for that so I smiled at her. "You've got to worry about other things. Mustang is still trying to be Fueror-"

She scowled. "And he's not going to be happy that you're practically dead."

I cringed. "Ouch. I'm not _that_ useless. But seriously now, Al needs to help him once he can. Mustang helped us a ton and as scary as it is to admit, we're kind of indebted to him. I can't stop Al if he wants to become a state alchemist. I know he knows what comes with it and I'm sure you do too, but I don't want you in the military no matter how good your alchemy may get. I have a small favor to ask of you though. Actually…it's a big favor. It's going to be hard…on both of us." My smile faded from my face. I knew this was going to be hard to ask of her. "If Al leaves to help Mustang or if he just leaves in general…I hate to ask this… Winry, can you let Al take the rose with him?"

Winry looked at me as the same thoughts going through my head went through hers. When will we see each other again, will the rose slip out of Al's bags, will someone find out about it. She bit her lip and her eyes watered, but she didn't cry. "I will. You're wasting time though, get back over there and finished what you've started. I guess…I'll see you after you've changed and had a child and fall in love with someone else and become a father and-."

I cut her off and looked at her determinedly. "I won't let that happen."

I slipped back through The Gate, but paused to talk to the Gatekeeper. It didn't look too happy. _So strong, aren't you?_ It sighed._ Stop overpowering me. You're always looking for a fight. I have no idea what you're going to do when your automail breaks._

"Hey, optimism. At least say _if_ my automail breaks."

It shook its head. _Come on, Edward. You know yourself better than that._

I sighed. "Whatever. Just send me back to hell."

It smiled. _As you wish._


	22. Chapter 22

[[I would love to know if you guys think this story is all too ridiculous or if there's something you hate about it (or love about it) I just hope I'm not disappointing anyone. Also, feel free to request something. If I like it, I'll try to fit it in! Be realistic with your suggestions though lol]]

"Elric! Edward Elric!" Mustang was shaking me and it was giving me a headache.

"Hey, calm down." He dropped me a little harshly and he and Hughes looked more relieved than they should've been. "Why are you freaking out so much?"

Mustang explained. "You weren't breathing and you had no pulse and-"

"He just wanted to give you mouth to mouth." Hughes interrupted with a smile.

Mustang wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and looked at Hughes as his eyes said 'you're unbelievable'

I grew horrified at the thought of waking up to Mustang's lips on mine. Then they both looked at me and started cracking up. "Man! We sure got him!" Mustang jokingly punched me in the arm. "Come on, don't be so gullible. If anyone was going to do mouth to mouth, it would've been Hughes. I was never good at CPR." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, in all seriousness, what happened?" I glanced at Hughes who was trying not to laugh and I hinted to Mustang that it was something I couldn't say in front of Hughes. Mustang nodded, understanding my unspoken words. "Hughes. Go home."

He started cracking up all over again. "Are you sure I should leave you two alone?"

I started walking away. I didn't want to deal with the yaoi jokes. They were more than a little awkward. "Elric! Get back here. Hughes is going to leave and I'll take you to the city."

Hughes looked shock. "I have to walk?" Mustang nodded from the driver's seat and took off with me in the back and Hughes on the sidewalk.

I explained to Mustang. "If I try really hard, I can send my soul through The Gate to the other world. I'd given Winry…well, a piece of my soul. Yes, I'm serious. It's literally a piece of my soul. So I'm drawn to it when I go across. I just needed some time with her after the whole Alter Winry scenario. Al is getting better, healthier." Mustang seemed like it was easy for him to accept all this and I was growing suspicious. "Mustang?"

"Hm?"

"Why is it so easy for you to accept all this?"

He shrugged. "Well I guess I could've told you that Hoenheim told me a lot about all this but you're giving me more details."

I sighed. "So you know my dad?"

His eyes widened. "He's your dad?"

I sighed again. "You know so much, yet so little." I glanced at the green numbers in the front of the car next to Mustang. I assumed it was a clock. I should've realized how late it was. The sun had set after we left Winry's.

We got to the city when Mustang realized the time. "Where were you thinking of sleeping tonight?"

I got out of the car. "I wasn't thinking of sleeping tonight." I had enough lying in peace while I was dead. I'd be able to last the night.

"At least borrow my cell phone for the night."

I looked at Mustang and wondered what a cell phone was. "A _cell _phone? What is- " He got out of the car and handed me a small silver device. He flipped it open and I remembered it from when my dad briefly told me about it. It changed and it showed the time. "Is this some kind of alchemy?"

He laughed. If you need help, just call me. My house phone is speed dial number two. You just press the two and the call button. It's just like a normal phone, but it's portable."

I stared at it in amazed awe. This world had its own kind of wonders. Mustang got in the car and pulled away. I put the phone in the pocket of my jeans. It almost reminded me of my pocket watch. I'd thought it'd be in my pocket when I returned to my body, but it wasn't there. Unless…it fell out… For a moment I longed to get back to the Evans' house, but I restrained myself.

I wandered around the city. It was much like Central, but there were all these signs that changed and pictures that moved. I assumed it was like the phone, but I wasn't too sure what this was. I wondered as I wandered how a person goes about getting someone to give up their child. It seems unethical, but then again, the child would be given credit for saving the world from corruption. Whatever the corruption is. I don't even know what's wrong. Suddenly, I found myself coughing. A huge truck drove by spitting out fumes and I coughed even more. I held my breath, but I needed to cough and it hurt not to. The first thing I thought was that I needed to go outside for fresh air, but I was already outside. I gave up on the city. Maybe I'd go back, but I just needed to get back to fresh air. I tried to run back where Mustang had driven from, but it wasn't a safe place to walk. I cursed and reluctantly pressed the two button on the phone. I held it to my ear and waited as a sleepy Mustang picked up the phone. I didn't wait for him to speak first. I coughed into the receiver. "The city is killing me. Send someone to get me. I don' think I can walk down the street."

"I'll be right there." He hung up and left me shocked. What was wrong with this Mustang? He's just so…not arrogant. Maybe flame alchemy has a side effect of arrogance. I sat by the side of the road where Mustang dropped me off. I stuffed my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. I was surprised to find a piece of chalk. I looked at it and remembered when I actually _needed_ chalk for alchemy. I doodled some circles on the ground without the intention to activate them. Then I drew the symbol on the back of my jacket. I frowned as the wings weren't symmetrical. I shrugged and drew another circle. A car pulled up beside me. It stopped and the door opened. Footsteps headed toward me, but I didn't panic. I knew those footsteps. Mustang looked at my area on the sidewalk. "What is that?"

I finished up the circle I was drawing and looked up at him. "Transmutation circles. The basis of alchemy. I don't need them anymore since I've seen what's in The Gate. But I still remember all of them." I quickly sketched another one.

Mustang's eyes went wide. "Woah. Déjà vu. What does that one do?"

I looked at him shocked. "Wait, you know it?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't look familiar. It just _feels_ familiar. Déjà vu."

I made note of that. "Well the alternate you pretty much lives off this circle. This is the symbol for his flame alchemy. He's the only flame alchemist in the world. He's the military's favorite weapon. Well, not anymore. He's supposed to have just killed the Fueror and I'm fairly sure he did. Hopefully him and Hawkeye-"

"Hawkeye? Like Riza Hawkeye?" Mustang blushed and I started cracking up.

"I KNEW IT. I KNEW MUSTANG AND RIZA HAD A THING!"

He shoved me into car trying to cover my mouth with his hand. I sat in the passenger seat and he closed the door. He took one long last look at the transmutation circle that his alternate him used and got into the car. "That circle makes my head hurt."

I looked at him curiously. I wondered… I'll ask Alter Al later.

Drawing all those circles reminded me of the papers Winry showed me. Despite my not being there, she was still learning alchemy. I was proud of her. It's not the easiest thing to learn, but she seemed happy to study it. I wondered what she'd be good at in the future and what her state alchemist name could be. Not that she'd ever have one. I just wondered what it _could_ be. She'd probably just use it so fix automail. Though, she might not even consider using it for automail. That's just something that should probably be done by hand. I twirled the piece of chalk between my finger and thumb.

I groaned in pain as a light suddenly turned on. I opened my eyes and realized I'd fallen asleep. Mustang helped me out of the car and into the house. Alphonse was still up working on late night homework. He let me in and I passed out as soon as I reached the bed.


	23. Chapter 23

[[I know this chapter took me a long time. I'M SO SORRY. If you want me to get my chapters out faster you can do me a favor and assassinate this thing called 'school.' Hope you enjoy! (Both the story and assassinating :D)]]

When I woke up, it finally hit me. I was stuck here. In a world where I couldn't use my alchemy publicly. A world without family. A world without friends. Sure, I could talk to some people, but I'd have too much hope of going home to get close to them. I went to talk to Alter Alphonse, but then remembered he was at school. I should've started school today, but due to culture shock, I was allowed one more day to take in an entirely new world.

Thinking back on it, I wasn't too sure what I could've done in the city and I was glad for that because I didn't plan on going back anytime soon. Thoughts of home flew through my head and suddenly something occurred to me. I found some silverware in the kitchen and went to a room with no windows, just in case. I transmuted them into a pocket watch. Not a state alchemist pocket watch, just a plain one. I pushed the button to open it. I stared at the second hand as the time ticked by.

I suddenly realized I didn't know the date. Yesterday was a long day. How long has it been since Alphonse's birthday? I counted back on my fingers, blushing as I rewound the memories of Winry. Today is six days since March 21st so today must be March 26th. That would mean the day I died and came back to life and all that was…my eyes widened. Wow yesterday really was a long day. I transmuted my automail into a blade to etch the new date into the new pocket watch. March 25th, 1921. The day I burned down my house a second time so I once again have nothing to return to. I needed to focus on this world and this mission. Even though I could, I wouldn't go back there until I could return with my body.

I had to sit and think this out. It didn't make any damn sense. Maybe I could find a woman who was pregnant, wanted an abortion thing but someone wouldn't let her. Then she wouldn't have to take care of the child and…no that wouldn't work. The doorbell rang. Damn it, don't interrupt my thinking time. I went downstairs and opened the door to-

"Rose?"

She looked at me suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"

I stared at the familiar face and remembered what she'd said to me… Then I glanced down. She was pregnant. _Why on earth. Why her._ "Um…it's kinda a long story. I hate to ask a personal question, but who's the father?"

She placed her hand on her stomach and smiled. "I'm glad to be having a child, but" Her smile turned into a look of desperation and fury. "The father left us. He slept with another woman, got her pregnant, and apparently likes her more. This world…there's no logic in it. Just stupidity."

I stared at her reluctantly. She sure was perfect for the job. "Rose, what would you say if I told you your baby could change the world? It would end the corruption and lack of morals. What…would you say to that?" I grew a little embarrassed at the strange sounding words but Rose looked intrigued.

"I would want that more than you know. That would be a child to be proud of."

I nodded. "Yea…um…how far are you in your pregnancy?"

"Eight months and a week…I'm going house to house to raise money for when it's born." She cringed a little. "They told me not to go out walking any more but I just wanted to try and get a little more money for it." She smiled again. "I hope it's a girl."

"Let me explain something to you. Please come in and sit down." We sat at the kitchen table. "There is a god-like figure that I've…been in touch with. It asked for my help. It sees the corruption of this world and wanted me to find it an unborn life so it could use the body as a vessel to fix this world. It can't contact the world any other way. Except through me."

Her eyes grew wide and tears poured down her face. "Your name must be Gabriel and you must be an angel." She smiled with joy beyond belief. "I want to help God. My baby will be the second coming of Jesus Christ."

I cringed. "No, Rose. I don't think…"

She waved her hands. "I understand, you don't believe in God, right? Well I do and there's nothing else this can be. It's divine intervention. I want to do this."

I looked at the unchangeable determination in her eyes and sighed. "Come with me." I grabbed her hand and brought her soul with me to The Gate.

_Finally. Took you long enough._

Rose looked around in wonder and I looked at The Gate and longed to jump through it. It would remain sealed until the deal was totally complete. Rose didn't have a Gate. She had no alchemy.

_Rose, is it? I am the god-like figure 'Gabriel' spoke of._

She looked happy. "So you are the angel, Gabriel!" I sighed but didn't say anything. "You are the God that made us in your image. You do have the same body as us."

It smiled that creepy smile. It didn't deny it, but it didn't affirm it. For the first time, I watched it stand up and it walked over to Rose. _Your timing was perfect. The soul was about to come into the child. Instead of a new soul, I will be the soul._

It sent a part of itself into her stomach much like how I'd made a part of my soul into a rose. I laughed at the thought. We both made part of ourselves into roses. It sent us back to America.

Rose put her hand on her stomach and smiled with tears in her eyes. Then her eyes grew wide and she put her hand to her mouth in shock. "I'm like the new Mary." I felt guilty as she spoke of her religion.

"I'll take you home now, Rose. I don't think you should be walking around much. Let's go." She got in the odd yet still familiar car and directed me to the place she worked. I was worried I wouldn't be able to drive the car, but it was rather simple to figure out. I drove very slow and people passed me angrily. Rose lived and worked at a soup kitchen of sorts. I planned to just let her out and go home, but she dragged me out. I then realized I'd never tied my hair up and I felt kind of underdressed in public with only some of the Evans' long pajama pants and my sleeveless black shirt. At least it wasn't ripped in half like usual. I smiled at the other women awkwardly.

Rose looked excited and they made her sit down. "He's Gabriel. The angel Gabriel!"

"No no no no! Rose, I told you. I'm not an angel! My name isn't Gabriel!"

There was a girl about my age present. She looked upset. "Yea, that's Edward Evans. He's an idiot womanizer."

I opened my mouth to respond but as the words sunk in I realized Edward Evans has an awful reputation and it's kinda pissing me off. "I get that a lot, but I'm Edward Elric. Edward Evans is in the hospital. He was in a car crash and broke his leg and his arm. He's in pretty bad shape."

She laughed. "Good! Serves him right! But you look exactly like him."

I nodded. "That's a bit harder to explain. How bout we just leave that how it is?"

She looked confused, but Rose interrupted us so I didn't need to explain. She talked to them excitedly and I slowly snuck away. I got in the car and drove over twenty miles per hour to get out of there. I slowed down once I got far enough away. I parked in the garage and sat in the driver's seat for a second. I pulled out the pocket watch to remind myself I couldn't go back quite yet.

[[Note: I'm not sure if that is Alphonse's actual birth date. I just made it up. My only source was: (wikianswers) .com/Q/When_is_Alphonse_Elric's_birthday Also, I'm sorry I keep making changes.]]


	24. Chapter 24

[[I couldn't think of any awesome prizes to give out in words so I settled on this: This chapter is dedicated to Starlight Promise for being the awesome reviewer of…well the month since I haven't gotten many other reviews haha. Whenever I get a review I throw a miniature one person party so feel welcome to join the party :D Thanks again, Starlight Promise. I'm glad you're hooked!]]

~*~ Winry

I wondered how old Ed would be when he came back. I continued drawing circles even though my hand was cramping. They were all practically perfect now. Al said I was doing well. I braced myself for later. Izumi was coming over for a few weeks. "Alphonse!"

I walked over to his room. I sat down on Ed's bed. "Al, how long do you think it'll take Ed to come back? What if he comes back a father?" I started crying and I felt stupid. Ed would've been mad if he saw me crying.

Al smiled at me. "Winry, I don't care what Ed says. He'll never do that. I'm sure he found a way around it."

~*~ Edward

I was glad I found a way around the Gatekeeper's request. I _really_ wasn't ready for…ugh. I just wasn't ready. I messed with my pocket watch while I walked inside. I sealed it with alchemy like my other one and slipped it into my pocket. I went into Edward Evans' room to search for my old pocket watch. Of course, it wasn't there. I wouldn't be surprised to get back to Amestris to find out Envy took it while I was dead. That's seriously unfair. How was I supposed to fight back if I was dead?

I sighed. I went downstairs to see my dad. I was surprised that he wasn't at work. He smiled when he saw me. "Just who I wanted to talk to." He glanced at my pajamas. "Go get dressed. We're going out. And don't wear a t-shirt. Wear something nice."

"What's nice around here?"

He raised one eyebrow at me. "Black slacks, crisp shirt, tie-"

I gagged. "I hate ties. They're so suffocating and they're a weakness in battle."

He looked at me seriously. "You won't be in any battles around here."

I squirmed as I longed to be active again. I felt so lazy not sparring. "I've got to practice with someone. When I go back I'm going to be so out of shape!"

My dad shrugged. "Ask Mustang."

I rolled my eyes. "Yea right. Mustang is never in hand to hand combat. He always…" I stopped myself as I remembered the Mustang here didn't have alchemy and would be forced into hand to hand combat. "Finally, I get to beat the hell out of Mustang."

"And speaking of whom, I don't think you need to be going to school. It may be the law here to be at school until you're eighteen, but I don't think that's what is best for you right now."

I frowned. I was interested in the school system here. To be in school until you're eighteen? That's crazy! I was out on my own at age twelve and Al was a year younger and with me. "What this Mustang's idea?"

My dad nodded. "He implied temper problems that may give you away. If you want to see the school you can go to Edward Evans' classes, but you'll probably need to get a-"

"If you say haircut, it's not going to happen."

My dad lifted one eyebrow. "Why is that?"

I shrugged. I threaded my fingers through my ponytail. "I like it. It wouldn't feel right with short hair. Plus, I can pull it out of my face if I need to. Braids are perfect for-"

"Battle, right?" My dad looked upset and frowned. "Edward, there are no more battles. There is no more fighting for your life. No one is going to attack you here. Why can't you understand?"

My hand clenched into a fist in frustration. "I'm going back, Dad. I don't care what you may think. I'll go back and I have to be prepared for anything. I won't know what happened over there so I'll have to be ready for anything. Now I'm going to find out when Mustang is free to spar."

He laughed. I grew irritated. "What." I emphasized the 't' out of frustration.

He threw me his cell phone. "You could just call him."

I looked at the device and remembered that Mustang lent me his. "Oh, I actually have some business to attend to with him. I'll walk over and visit him."

He once again raised his eyebrow. "You know where he lives?"

I shook my head. "But I know where he works."

As I approached the car, I racked my mind for what I'd learned of him so far: anything that could help within a battle. I blocked Hughes' throwing knife with my automail and opened the door to the car. I closed it behind myself and I sat in the passenger seat.

He glanced at me surprised. "Elric?"

"Call me Fullmetal." I grinned mischievously. "Get out of the car."


	25. Chapter 25

[[This is a short chapter but I got two out today and they were both on the short side. I figured two short chapters could equal a long chapter lol]]

Mustang recognized my motives as I stood before him, my eyes burning with anticipation. Every move I made was a memory. Every muscle I used felt like heaven. Sparring just felt so natural. I had Mustang pinned in three minutes. I wasn't even out of breath yet.

I let him up. "Again."

He nodded and we continued. People walked by curiously. Why would a cop be fighting with a kid? I was about to pin Mustang again when I saw her. I froze and stared. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't hear. I couldn't feel. All I could do was see. Her light brown hair was gently tousled by the wind and her eyes smiled softly as she walked by.

"M…m…." Mustang stopped his attacks when he noticed my state of shock. "Mom?" I took a step toward her. A tear fell down my cheek. I ran to her. "Excuse me, but may I ask your name?"

The woman smiled. "My name is Trisha." She seemed to realize something as she looked at me. "You look a lot like someone I knew… You don't happen to be…but who else could you be? No one else could look so much like Hoenheim." She cried with joy and I did too. "You're my son, aren't you?" She hugged me and I felt some guilt invade me.

"Um…I am your son, but I'm not your son… Your son looks exactly like me, but I'm…" I stopped myself. How could I explain this? "Your son, Edward Evans, he's in the hospital. He was in a car crash." She looked at me sadly. The face was so familiar, so much more beautiful than I'd remembered. I knew she wanted me to explain, but I needed to ask questions first. "They said you were dead! They said you died, and I believed them and seeing you, healthy and alive! I'm just so happy." I hugged her, feeling too big in her arms. She was shorter than I remembered, but I'd gotten taller. "I can't wait til Alpho-" I cut myself off. Alphonse would never see her. If only there were a way…

She looked at me with a question in her eyes. I stepped out of her arms. There. Mission complete. I'd seen Mom smile again. I couldn't ask for anything more. She's not even my mom. If the Evans think she's dead…well I've got to help them. I'm not letting another family break apart. Mustang came over. He stretched, trying to pretend that he wasn't sore from sparring (and losing). "Elric, what are you doing?" He looked at me like I was crossing a line. He looked panicked and unsure how to approach the situation.

"I told you, call me Fullmetal. This is…um… you know where I'm from? I just thought I knew her from there."

He laughed nervously. "Another girl? Jeez, Elric. You've got to respect age gaps she's old enough to be-"

"My mom?" I looked at him with a subtle hint in my eyes.

He froze. "Woah."

She looked at us curiously, "Excuse me, did you just call him Elric?" Mustang nodded and corrected his posture like he was in the presence of royalty. I shook my head as he nodded. I face palmed. He was always one step behind. "That's my maiden name. Do we have a relation other than you not being my son?" She smiled.

I shook my head, but stopped as the words sank in. "Maiden name? What's your married name?"

She frowned. "I'm married legally, but it wasn't for love. I was forced by my parents. They also forced me to give up the two children I had with my high school sweetheart. I thought you were one of them. Now, it's not that I don't like my husband, I just don't love him like I should." She looked at me like she knew me. "I can tell by your eyes that you understand depth and pain. You lost someone dear to you, didn't you?" She frowned.

I nodded and my voice was hoarse as I spoke. "My mother."

Her eyebrows knitted together with concern. "So we've both lived hard lives, though I guess you didn't have parents to force you into things. But that's no way to think about it. You loved her. You still are totally devoted to her." Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. "You're so easy to read." She messed up my hair a little, but the gentleness of the touch was calming. "But to answer your question, my married name is Bradley. I'm surprised you didn't know already. Everyone seems to know me since I'm the first lady."


	26. Chapter 26

[[My friend and I made facebook pages for Edward, Hohenheim, and Alphonse. If you're interesting in finding us, look for the email address: fullmetal103aim .com. The other accounts should be easy to find once you find Edward's. We plan to get more people into our role play group later on so if your favorite character isn't here yet, they may appear shortly]]

I stared at her and felt my soul leave me. "B-bradley? First lady? You married…the fuh…uhh…wow. This is…different."

She titled her head, confused by my words. "Yes, well he and I are very happy with our adopted son, Selim-"

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME."

She looked a little offended. Mustang butted in to try and refuge the situation. "Um…I'm sorry, Mrs. Bradley. Mr. Elric is new to our culture and isn't very aware of manners." I glared at Mustang.

Mrs. Bradley and I walked down the street toward the Evans' house with Mustang walking nervously and awkwardly behind us.

"So how are the boys? Beside Edward being in the hospital. How are their lives? How are they making money to live in a house?"

"The boys live by themselves…and with my dad and me too now I guess. Edward and my dad both have jobs."

She glanced at me sideways. "Does your father, by any chance, look like my sons' father?"

I frowned. Trisha Elric is just as much of a genius as the rest of her family. "I've never seen him, but if I had to guess, I'd say yes."

We walked in silence until we arrived at the house. "This is it?"

I nodded. "My dad is at work right now, but Alphonse should be done with school."

She smiled and walked in. I stopped Mustang from entering. "Don't you have work to do?" He opened his mouth to argue, but I was right so he turned around and left.

I guided the Evans' mom to Alphonse's room. I knocked and waited. Alphonse, looking sleepy and homework logged, answered the door. "Hey Alter Ed, what's up?"

I glanced nervously at Mrs. Bradley and she raised an eyebrow at me being called Alter Ed. I laughed shakily. "Well, Alphonse, someone very important wants to introduce herself to you." He glanced behind me and realized I wasn't the only one there. His eyes snapped open and he was instantly awake.

"Oh! Hello, mam." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, hiding the disheveled textbooks and notebooks.

Mrs. Bradley smiled and hugged him. "I'm not dead, Alphonse." She started crying. "I'm not dead. I've let you live all this time with a lie. My parents had me cut off any connection with you and made me tell your dad to convince you I was dead. That I died when you were born. I could only imagine the guilt a young child could force on themselves with a situation like that. I'm not dead, Alphonse."

I watched as his eyes slowly grew wider and wider. "M…mom. Mom? MOM! MOM YOU'RE NOT DEAD!" He hugged her tighter and he started crying too. I leaned against the wall while they reconnected. My soul was knocking on the door to The Gate, but my mind wouldn't let it open. I got out my pocket watch to try and focus. Here and now. Here and now. I clicked it open and closed. Open and closed. I slowly pulled myself away from The Gate. Here and now. Here and now.

~*~ Winry

Ed had been coming and going a lot. Apparently it's been longer between visits for him, but either way, he hasn't been in a while. I was starting to get worried. Why did it all of the sudden matter where he was now? Sure I was worried when he went away before, but now…it's different. He loves me. He proposed to me. The boy…man? No, Edward will always be a boy. I smiled to myself. The boy I'm going to marry is in constant danger and in a place where I can't fix his automail.

Yes. That was one reason I was more worried. What if he tried to fix it himself and he destroyed it! It's so original and beautiful! It's my pride and joy!

I shook myself out of it. But the other reason that it's different is the situation. He's in another _world_. That doesn't happen a lot. Actually, it's probably never happened before. I laid down where I was sitting on Ed's bed. I slept here now. His smell hadn't faded away quite yet so it was relative easy to fall asleep…

~*~ Edward

The smell of lemon cleaning supplies was nauseating. I sat in the corner of Alter Ed's hospital room while the two boys talked to their mom. She told them how their father told them she was dead so they wouldn't be mad at her for leaving. Instead they were mad at him because he left. Though Alter Alphonse still had hope in him, of course. After a long time of them talking, we returned to the house where Alphonse taught me about American society and it's government. This world was so new and if I wanted to fit in, even though it wouldn't be long now until I could leave, I would have to put my studying skill to good use. Sure, I would only be serving as Alter Ed's double since my being here is only temporary, but if anyone were to ask a question I couldn't answer, suspicion would arise quickly. I wouldn't want to trouble Alter Ed any more than I already was. He gets out of the hospital tomorrow so sleeping arrangements would be rearranged.

I thought about how they asked me to double as Alter Ed. I brushed through my pony tail with my metal fingertips. No way in hell was I cutting my hair.


	27. Chapter 27

When I woke up, I already knew something was wrong. I didn't dare move. Slowly, I moved my left arm to brush through my bangs. It shook as it swept through the rest of my hair. It ended at my neck.

"HOENHEIM!"

As I stormed downstairs, I felt the wind against the back of my neck. The skin there tingled. I was used to it being covered. I closed my eyes as I passed the mirror. The bastard looked up and smiled when I got the main room.

"Ah, Edward. Your hair looks nice."

"BASTARD. WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CUT MY HAIR."

He interrupted my rant with laughter. "I didn't know your short rants were applied to your hair, too. Is that why you keep it long?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS' TINIEST SHORTY!"

"Alright, alright. Enough, Edward. You've got to get to work."

I twitched angrily. "I can't. I've got to go see Rose. She's my ticket home."

Hoenheim looked kind of mad. "You know you're disappointing the Evans'." He sighed. "Whatever, Edward. You must do what you must."

I scowled and left the house. I mumbled to myself. "Dumbass bastard cuts my hair in the night, who does he think he is, what on earth am I supposed to do now, just go see Rose, ask her when the baby is gonna come, get the hell out of here, get back to-" I stopped myself and chocked back my words.

I knocked on the door to the place where I'd dropped of Rose before. I braced myself to meet one of the girls that had been around, but surprisingly Rose opened the door. She didn't look good. "H-hi, Edward. I-I'm glad you came." She was breathing heavily.

"You should sit down, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "N-nothing. I know that sometimes babies come early and…" Her eyes went wide and her voice was flat. "I need to get to the hospital." She froze and I froze.

Not this again. Where's Winry when you need her?

I shook the thought out of my head and helped Rose to the car. I drove the speed limit for the first time as we made our way to the hospital. Hoenheim had told me that I needed a certificate of some sort to drive legally, but I think this counts as an emergency.

When we pulled up I was surprised to see the equipment available to the doctors of this world. It was almost unreal. As I stood in shock, the doctors had already taken Rose inside. I walked in and made my way to a bench outside the door. There was no reason for me to go inside.

I shivered at the thought of the Gatekeeper being born. It was silent and empty in the hall until I heard the soft click of two pairs of footsteps. The voices sounded familiar. I glanced up and caught my breath. Again with the dead coming back to life? Did no one die in this world?

The Rockbells walked with silent purpose toward Rose's room. Mr. Rockbell stopped to talk to me while Mrs. Rockbell headed into the room. "Hey, Edward! I knew you got released today but I didn't think you would be sticking around!"

I stayed silent for a moment, unsure how to approach the situation. First off all, I wanted to hug him so badly. Second, I wanted Winry to be able to hug him. Third, I was supposed to be Edward Evans in public now and I didn't know anything about the relationship between Alter Ed and Mr. Rockbell.

He smiled in my silence. "Still tired, huh kid?" He ruffled his hand through my hair and time slowed down as the action triggered a memory. Getting home from school, the Rockbells home for whatever brief time they were ever home for. Winry smiling and Al was smiling and I was sitting at the table, rudely waiting for the food to be served. We were young and had normal, complete bodies. My haircut as a child was much as it is right now. Mr. Rockbell walked toward me and told me how rude I was being, he ruffled my hair. They left for the war the next day. It was their farewell dinner. No one thought the dinner was _that_ kind of farewell.

Mr. Rockbell headed into the room without asking why I was there for Rose or how I knew her.

I don't know how long I sat there, lost in thought. It might've been hours, it might've been days. I didn't eat and I didn't sleep. The thoughts in my head were eventually interrupted by the single cry of a newborn child. I stood to open the door only to find myself face to face with The Gate.

The Gatekeeper smiled at me. "Thank you, you're done."

The Gate opened and I was pulled through by black arms as I had been many times before.

I kept my eyes closed, scared that it was a lie and that it wouldn't be true. I felt cool, gentle fingers touch my arm. An all too familiar voice whispered in my ear. "E-Edward?"


	28. Chapter 28

[[I want to send out a HUMONGOUS thank you to all the reviews I've received / I can't begin to explain how much they mean to me and I can't believe you all like the story this much. So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.]]

"This can't be right." I was pacing in the room that was now mine again. Winry watched me happily, though she was upset at my denial. "It just feels incomplete. This can't be right. How could the Gatekeeper not try to get out of the deal? This just doesn't make sense."

I was forced to stop walking when Winry wrapped her arms around me from behind me. Her fingers brushed my sides and rested on my chest. She rested her chin on my shoulder. "Stop it, Edward. Just be glad you're home and kiss me."

I couldn't really say no to that. I brushed my fingers through her hair, careful about snagging it on my metal arm again, and pulled her close. I leaned toward her lips but stopped a fraction of an inch away when she stepped on my toe. I laughed and bent my neck so our foreheads were touching. "Ow. Come on, Winry. Really?"

Instead of laughing like I expected her to, she looked shocked. "Wait, Edward. Did you say 'ow'?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yes, I did. What's wrong?"

She knelt down as she spoke. "I stepped on your left foot…"

She tried to roll up the skinny jeans, but they weren't really meant for that. She took off my shoe and we both stared at my lack of automail.

We stood in silence, staring for a while. "Edward, what are you wearing?"

I glanced down, embarrassed. "The people on the other side of The Gate thought I looked too weird in my normal clothes…I should change."

I grabbed my normal pants and waited for Winry to leave. She smiled mischievously and ducked under the covers of my bed. "I won't peak." I opened my mouth to argue, but changed really fast instead. I walked over to the bed and yanked off the covers. She giggled and pulled me to sit next to her. "You forgot something." I looked down where she pointed at my chest. I was still wearing the t-shirt. To my surprise, she slipped her hands under my shirt and took it off for me. My face turned red. She blushed too and then lied down.

I lied down next to her and she moved to lie on top of me. She folded her arms to rest her chin on her hands. I was still red since she was touching my bare chest. I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes. I forgot how comfortable my bed was. Winry slapped my cheek and I opened my eyes reluctantly. "I was ready for nap time."

She smiled and got up. "We have to celebrate first. Granny Pinako and Al don't know you're here y-"

"Al…I jumped up and ran downstairs. "AL! ALPHONSE!"

"Brother?" I saw the young boy at the table. Touto was crawling around his plate and Den was sleeping by his feet. "BROTHER!"

He jumped up and I ran toward him. I hugged my younger brother for the first time in years. I felt wet drops hit my shoulder and realized he was crying. "Alphonse, you look so great!"

He smiled. "I've been eating a lot! Food is delicious!"

I nodded. "Finally, now we can both be slobs and I won't be the only one being stared at!"

He looked at me confused " …Brother, why aren't you wearing shirt?" Winry and I both turned red. Al noticed and he turned red too. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

Granny Pinako held an ever sarcastic gaze in her eye. "It almost pains me to say this, but you've grown taller. We'll need to adjust your automail."

I smiled at Winry and pulled up my pant leg. "No more automail for my leg."

Granny Pinako's expression dropped all of its sarcasm and held only happiness. "I guess good things _do_ come to those who wait."

I joined Al for dinner which, conveniently, was stew. As we ate, Al bragged about Winry's interest in alchemy and how she's been reading all of my books and understanding them. Winry said she's been able to transmute some small things that broke and Al boasted that he didn't even have to help her. Winry glanced away shyly. "I've been waiting for you to come back and teach me, Edward. Izumi said she wants me to spar with you. She also told me that if I break your automail, I could redesign you a new and better one, so" She grinned that Winry-automail-loving grin. "I'm not afraid of breaking it anymore."

I smiled, anticipating an interesting fight. I realized something and dropped my spoon into the stew. "Dammit."

Al tilted his head. "What is it?"

I left the table without saying anything. "Don't follow me." I heard Winry's chair stop moving as I walked to my room, cursing all the way. The happy atmosphere left me as I realized I was just thrown back into real life and real problems and I had to remember where I'd left off. Envy killed me. I found the jeans and pulled out the duplicate pocket watch I made. Instead of making it into something else, I stopped at the second step of alchemy and deconstructed it. Where the hell is my pocket watch?

I pulled on my black tank top, black jacket and my red coat. I slipped on my white gloves and my leather boots. When I stepped into the kitchen downstairs Winry threw a wrench at me. "DAMMIT, EDWARD. YOU CAN'T LEAVE."

I ignored her. I couldn't look at her right now. I knew what her eyes would look like: Dead and desperate. "I'm going to Central, Al. Are you well enough to come with me?"

"EDWARD, DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE WHEN YOU'VE JUST GOT BACK."

Al looked hesitantly from me to Winry. "I'd love to, Brother. But I don't think I'd be able to defend myself if someone were to attack us."

I nodded and tried not to notice Winry's tears in my peripheral vision. She mumbled something. I risked a glance at her and watched as determination formed in her eyes. "That's right." Her eyes burned with icy flames. "I can go with you now, Edward."

I stared at Miss Rockbell. In my head, images of her as a child zoomed by. I wondered what it'd be like to protect her on this journey and I also wondered what it'd be like in the future. Would she ever be fighting beside me?

I knew today would unbalance the scales of whether she would be Winry, automail mechanic or Winry, alchemist. Why the hell did I have to choose this for her?


	29. Chapter 29

[[HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I apologize for my lack of chapters. I'll put more effort into writing during school. I missed you guys D: ]]

"Winry…you know I can't let you come with me."

She pouted and I sighed, but she didn't try and argue. I could tell she was embarrassed by even suggesting it. I stood where I was for a while and stared around the house. The wall of pictures caught my eye, but I tried not to look. Too many happy memories.

I turned and walked out of the house and down the path. It was an all too familiar activity, but my footsteps scratched against the gravel and some fear grew in me because there was only one pair of footsteps.

I sat on the bench and waited for the train. The wind tousled my short hair. Damn Hohenheim had no right. And all that for nothing. I left the same day. Well I guess it helped when I saw the Rockbells…damn. Should I tell Winry about that?

The train pulled up and leaves and dirt got brushed up. I closed my eyes and made my way to the train. No one even glanced at me. Was I really not recognizable? Was it the hair? Or maybe it was the height…I smiled to myself. I really hoped it was the height. I let myself fall asleep so I wouldn't have to think too much on the ride.

I woke up and stretched before getting out of bed. I got up and started to get changed when I realized my automail wasn't there. _You're back?_ I froze at Edward Evans' voice. Not again. "Oh…hey. Damn, am I trapped here again?" _Just give me my body back. It was easier when your body was here, too._ I frowned. "Is anything going on here? I mean, the Gatekeeper.-" _Damn him. He's so creepy. Rose came by here looking for you and she had the baby with her. She looked really happy but the baby's face…it was so still with a slight smirk. Steady gaze. Totally creepy._

I sat back down on the bed. "Well I can't worry about that right now. My body is on a train and I'm not sure how time works between the two worlds. I don't want to miss my stop. I guess…I guess I could stop by later on if you don't mind me taking over your body again. Though I suppose…" I redid the same process I'd done for Winry's rose. I made him a bracelet. "There, I _should_ be able to just come back without taking over your body." _What the hell does that m-_ "Just go with it. See you around."

I closed my eyes and woke up on the train this time. The train rumbled on and I let it rattle memories through me. I remembered when Al asked me about Winry as we headed out for the longest day ever. I was glad my train was at night so I could sleep and wake up when I'd normally wake up. Though thanks to Alter Ed, I was up at some time early in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet. I closed my eyes, determined to take a real nap this time.

When I saw the rose in Winry's hair I sighed. "Dammit. I guess I just won't sleep anymore." Winry turned around surprised but I felt my heart constrict. Equivalent exchange. I screw up Alphonse's life so he can't sleep so now I can't sleep.

Winry looked pleased, but confused. "Can you still send your soul here with your body in this world?"

I stared at her for a while controlling myself before answering. I mean, the answer is literally right in front of her face. "I'm here, aren't I?" I bit my tongue. And that was after pausing to control myself. "Sorry, but uh yea I would guess it works." We stared at each other for a while. I wasn't sure what I was feeling, mainly I was tense. I let a breath out and held out my arms with a small smile. Winry rushed forward and I twirled my fingers through her hair and pressed my lips to her forehead. "I've got to get going." I squeezed her and tilted her chin so our eyes met. "I love you, Winry Rockbell."

I woke up on the train this time.

"Hey kid! Long time no see!" I tensed at the voice and turned to see Hohenheim. I nearly growled. Hohenheim smiled. "Looking for something, Fullmetal Pipsqueak?" Envy twirled my pocket watch while hiding under the guise of my father. I glanced around to take in the civilians around. Getting into a fight with Envy on a moving train would not be optimal. Envy smiled. "That's right. You're coming with me. Gluttony ran off after eating Dante. Alphonse's armor is still lying on the floor in that dance hall. Rose and her baby managed to escape somehow. I've seen the Gate, but the Gatekeeper wouldn't let me through. Something about him being busy. I think Wrath has just been crying this whole time. His "mommy" is gone. That idiot kid."

"Why ar-"

"Why am I telling you what you missed?" Envy smirked. "I like bragging about surviving when nearly everyone else died. I even got a souvenir from killing you!" He twirled my pocket watch again and I shook with want. "But then you came back to life. Kind of unfortunate. I thought you were actually dead that second time. Third time's a charm, huh kid? I can tell you don't wanna fight on the train so I'll wait to beat your ass when we get off at Central." Envy started laughing manically. "Even the Furor is dead! Man, I'm like a cockroach!"

I sat up quickly. "So Mustang killed the Furor. I knew he would. Who is Furor now?"

Envy looked at me confused. "How out of the loop are you? You didn't hear about the pirate Furor?" I had no clue what on earth Envy was talking about. "Bradley stabbed Mustang's eye in the fight to the death. He's got himself an eye patch. Looks absolutely ridiculous. And get this, even _more_ girls are fawning over him. The man can't lose his appeal. I might have to steal his face sometime. See what happens."

After what felt like an eternity of Envy never shutting up, the train finally stopped at Central. I shoved Envy to the door. "Get your ass off the train so I can beat the hell out of you." Envy twirled the pocket watch and dashed off the train. "DAMN YOU!" He stole the appearance of some younger person I couldn't recognize and he forced me to cause quite the commotion while following him. We eventually stopped in front of Central offices.

Envy giggled. "And I thought our reunion couldn't get any funnier!"

He turned around and false saluted to the man walking out. My eyes widened. The glossy hair had lost some of its shine. The rank on his jacket took quite a few steps up. The black eye stared at me intensely. aHawkeye kept walking as he stopped. She turned to face him. "What's wrong?" She followed his gaze.

"FULLMETAL."

I glanced uncertainly at Envy, but walked forward. I brought my hand to my forehead. "Furor Mustang."

Hawkeye had her hand over her mouth and I saw a tear fall from her eye. Mustang cracked a smile and reached out and ruffled my hair. I knocked his hand off my head. "We thought you were dead."

"I thought you were smart."


End file.
